The Club Battle Ninja Tournament!
by NegaiFreak
Summary: CONTIUING IN THE SUMMER! ANTICIPATE WHAT YOU CAN! Heading back to Icirrus City on account of hearing about another battle tournament, Ash and Co. head back to compete, along with their friends. Not only that, but Gingka also returns from his departure in Mistralton City to partake as well! However, the opponents Ash, Gingka, and the others face are far beyond expected!
1. Gingka Returns! The Tournament Begins!

IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: This multi-chapter crossover story takes place after "Clash of the Connoisseurs", which would make good sense. This story will only introduce characters from the following shows: Pokémon, Beyblade: Metal Masters, Ben 10, Generator Rex, and Naruto. Please do not bash me for this crossover story, for I like it like this. Furthermore, DO NOT BASH ME FOR WHO WINS EACH BATTLE IN THE TOURNAMENT. Enjoy the story, and please feel free to leave a review!

"So, there's supposed to be a battle tournament in Icirrus City?" Ash asked he trekked along the road back to the city.

"Right!" Masamune replied, "We were on our way to the tournament anyways until we got picked up by that butler guy," he said. The group had just left the Hatterly estate after Cilan had to make a connoisseur evaluation for a little girl named Marigold.

"And the reason he picked you guys up is because Tsubasa's an S-Class connoisseur, correct?" Cilan asked.

"Exactly!" Masamune replied, "Now, come on, we don't wanna be late!" he shouted as he dashed off.

"Same as always," Iris sighed as she stopped, "What a kid."

"Uh… um…" Hinata stuttered. The group, excluding Masamune turned to see the shy 17 year-old girl, quaking in her sandals at the thought of participating in this tournament. "I-I don't kn-know if I c-can do this…" she said, stressed. Tsubasa put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," he said, reassuring her, "It's the first tournament I've actually participated in for a while," he admitted.

"Yeah!" Ash said, remembering, "Back at the Club Battle you battled-" Ash stopped when he realized the name he was about to say. Everyone minus Tsubasa began to look down in depression.

"What's wrong you guys?" Tsubasa asked in worry.

"It's just that," Cilan began to say, "We haven't seen Gingka for a while since Mistralton City…"

"There hasn't been one sign of him at all ever since he left so suddenly…" Iris said sadly.

"Ax Axew…" Axew said, agreeing with Iris. Ash then dug into the pocket of his vest and took out something.

"We found this from where we last saw him," Ash said holding out the object for Tsubasa to see. Tsubasa gasped as he saw that Ash was holding Gingka's trusted beyblade, Galaxy Pegasus.

"W-Why do you have Pegasus?!" Tsubasa asked in shock, "Gingka would never leave his own beyblade behind!" Ash then dug back into his pocket and took out a piece of crumpled paper, unfolding it, and then showing it to his friend.

Tsubasa looked at the writing placed on the paper, able to understand what was written. "So that's what it's all about…" he said handing the paper back to Ash, "I can't believe Gingka left like that, not even taking Pegasus…"

Everyone was now feeling gloomy after reminiscing Gingka's departure. Ash then looked up as he saw the city, dead ahead. "You know what?" he said, getting everyone's attention, "Let's win this tournament for Gingka's sake!" he exclaimed.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed. Everyone, even Hinata nodded in agreement that they wouldn't let this little mention bring them down.

"All right," Ash said, "Let's go!" he exclaimed as he jogged down towards the city.

***BW Rival Destinies Opening***

The group consisting of Ash, Cilan, Hinata, Iris, and Tsubasa, along with Pikachu and Axew arrived back in Icirrus City to see a huge dome stadium being crowded with spectators and trainers.

"Wow!" Ash said as he saw the stadium, "This place is huge!" As the group awed the dome's immense size, Cilan noticed a large billboard placed around the corner.

"Look!" Cilan said, running over to the board. He then put his hand to his chin as he read what was placed upon it.

"Well, what is it?" Iris asked, wondering what got Cilan so perplexed.

"These are the rules for the tournament," he began to explain, "It says trainers must have up to three Pokémon, are able to register as much as six into the tournament, and that this is a 32 trainer competition!" he noted thoroughly.

"Wow, that's a lot more competitors than the ones in other tournaments we've been too!" Iris said.

"Axew Ax!" Axew said as well.

"So, what's the prize?" Ash asked excitedly. Cilan kept on reading the board.

"It says that the two finalists will each earn themselves a Pokémon egg, but the winner gets to select which egg he or she wants along with getting a supply Pokémon type items!" Cilan exclaimed.

"P-Pokémon type items?" Hinata asked.

"Correct!" Cilan said, "Items such as a Charcoal, a Miracle Seed, and even a Mystic Water!" he explained joyfully, "All the items that power up any type of Pokémon!"

Ash and Iris grinned as he heard what Cilan had explained. '_I bet that item set has a item that powers up Electric types!_' Ash thought.

'_I bet there has to be an item for Dragon types like Axew!_' Iris also thought.

"I'm gonna win this tournament!" Ash and Iris exclaimed in unison, also pumping their fists into the air.

Pikachu, Axew, and the rest of the group laughed as Ash and Iris both became flustered for saying the exact same thing at the exact same time. Even Hinata let out a little giggle at their unison. Just then she heard a loud noise.

"This was my spot!" the voice echoed angrily.

"You stepped out of line!" another voice shouted.

"What line? There hardly is any!" the first voice shouted back.

The whole group stopped laughing to hear the confrontation as the shouts became louder and louder. "I have a feeling that's Masamune…" Tsubasa sighed, "Does he always have to pick fights like this?" Tsubasa then walked towards the screaming voices, with the rest of the group in tow.

They turned the corner to see the hot-blooded beyblader arguing with a man with spiky red hair, a red tank top with a blue stripe across the belly, white wristbands, and green shorts right in front of the registration booth.

"I got here first, so I register first!" Masamune screamed into the man's face.

"Like I said, you stepped out of line, so I register first!" the man shouted back.

"No, I do!" Masamune yelled.

"I do!" the man argued. They both glared at each other, growling angrily.

"Hey Masamune!" Tsubasa shouted, getting his attention.

"Tsubasa?" Masamune said, surprised to his friend standing right there. Both of the boys stopped arguing to turn to the Tsubasa. Ash then smiled when he saw the man who argued with Masamune for himself.

"Stephen, what's up?" Ash asked running towards his friend. The man nearly fell over at the mispronunciation of his name yet again.

"Not too much, though my name's Stephan…" Stephan sighed, "I'm competing in this tournament too!" he said, "Or at least I was until this little squirt cut in line!" he shouted pointing at Masamune.

"There was no line!" Masamune shouted back, pointing to the registration booth, which had no trainers there at all, "And who're you calling squirt, tough guy?!"

"You, that's who!" Stephan shouted. The two boys began glaring at each other once, leaving Ash and Tsubasa to sigh as Iris, Cilan, and Hinata to walk up.

"Oh boy…" Iris sighed. As the argument continued, Ash saw a counter with unfilled registration sheets. The counter was next to a lovely fountain of water.

"That must be where we get our registrations," Ash pointed out as he walked over to the counter.

"Out of the way! Out of the way! OUT OF THE WAY!" a high-pitched voice screamed as Ash turned for only a split second when he felt a huge shove, he then suddenly found himself in air, hurdling towards the fountain.

SPLASH!

Masamune and Stephan stopped arguing once they heard the splash. Everyone turned to see that it was Bianca that had accidentally knocked Ash into the water, and was breathing heavily as it looked like she had been running all day.

"Bianca!" everyone exclaimed.

"Oh, thank goodness I finally stopped…" Bianca said as she caught her breath, she then turned to see the entire group staring at her. "Oh, hi everyone!" she said happily, "Hey, where's Ash?" she asked looking for the capped trainer.

"One guess…" Iris sighed, pointing at the fountain. Bianca turned to see Ash was soaked from head to toe as he had fallen into the fountain, with Pikachu struggling to get him out.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Bianca apologized over and over.

"It's okay Bianca," Ash replied, "Accidents happen all the time!" he said as he was still surprised that Bianca yet again, knocked him into a fountain.

"Need a hand?" asked a voice. Ash turned to see a man standing next to him, holding out his gloved hand, wanting to help to young boy.

"Rex!" Ash exclaimed as the goggled evo pulled him out of the fountain. "Are you here for the tournament too?" he asked, as he tried to dry himself off.

"Yeah, there's a whole lot of people participating so I figured I should join in too!" Rex replied with a smile. Just then, Ash noticed another man behind Rex, who was also filling out his registration form. He was wearing brown pants, green and white shoes, a shirt with a green collar and stripe down the middle with a white number ten on the front, and a strange looking watch on his left wrist.

"Ben!" Ash said, getting his other friend's attention, "You're gonna participate too?" Ash asked excitedly.

"Yeah!" Ben replied, "This tourney'll be a good chance to test out my skills." Hinata then walked up, seemingly excited to see Ben again. "Hey Hinata!" Ben greeted.

"Hi!" Hinata said, now excited.

"So are you participating too?" Ben asked, getting a nod from the shy girl, "Cool!" Ben said, "I'm sure Naruto would be proud to know that you're battling in this tournament." Hinata blushed upon the mention of her beloved one's name. Just then, she felt a hand placed on her shoulder.

"Hey, Hinata, what's up?" a voice asked. Hinata turned to see Naruto standing right next to her, his hand on her shoulder. "So, are you gonna compete too?" Naruto asked.

"N-N-N-N-Naruto?!" Hinata asked, her face turning bright red in an instant, she began to stumble. Ben noticed this, and stopped filling out his form, rushing over and catching Hinata before she fell onto the ground.

"Phew…" he sighed as he lifted her up, bridal style. "Do you always have to make a surprising entrance?!" he asked Naruto angrily, "It wouldn't kill you to walk up to us normally and say hi rather than surprising Hinata!" he yelled.

"Whoa Whoa! What did I do?!" Naruto asked, surprised by Ben's anger. The group laughed at their antics, enjoying the hilarious moment as the two boys continued to argue.

"Well, would you look who's here?" a voice asked from a distance.

"Oh no…" Iris sighed as she turned around to see her rival, the Dragon Buster Georgia standing tall as ever.

"So Iris, have your Dragon types gotten any better since the Clubsplosion?" Georgia asked smugly.

"Well, we've been training…" Iris began to reply, "So yeah, I guess you can say we got stronger. Right Axew?" she asked the Tusk Pokémon.

"Ax Axew!" Axew replied in agreement.

"Well, we'll just have to see about that won't we?" Georgia asked rhetorically as she walked towards the counter to get a form.

Tsubasa filled out his form carefully, for he wasn't in a rush to get started with this tournament.

"Greetings, fellow connoisseur Tsubasa!" said a voice right next to him. He sighed as he knew the voice came from Burgundy, a C-Class Connoisseuse.

"Oh, hey Burgundy…" he said, continuing to fill out his form without looking up. Cilan noticed Burgundy as well, smiling as he saw her.

"Hello Burgundy!" he greeted with a wave. The connoisseuse just growled as she heard that familiar voice.

She turned towards him with fury in her eyes. "Mark my words Cilan, you will face utter defeat at my powerful hands as I show you what kind of a connoisseuse I can really be!" she exclaimed.

"I look forward to seeing that in the tournament Burgundy!" Cilan replied happily.

"Hmph!" Burgundy said, turning away from him and getting herself a form. '_Still as spicy as ever I guess…_' Cilan thought as he grabbed a form himself. Ash had just finished filling out his form, when Pikachu's ears twitched all of a sudden.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, pointing out away from the registration area. Ash then noticed a boy about his age walking over to the area. He had blonde hair, an orange jacket covering a black hoodie, grey pants, and a one-strap backpack.

"Hey Trip!" Ash shouted out as he ran over to his friend, registration in hand. "So how've you been?" he asked.

"I've been just fine," Trip replied, "Training as usual, evolving my Pokémon, coming up with strategies, basic stuff." He then walked past Ash and took a form from the counter to fill out.

'_Man, I wish I get to battle him this time!_' Ash exclaimed in his head.

"Pika?" Pikachu said as his ears jumped up again.

"What's the matter buddy?" Ash asked the yellow mouse, leaning down. They then noticed a shadow lurking upon them as they both turned to see a figure they wished they weren't seeing. "R-Ryuga?!" Ash asked in shock. Everyone, even Trip looked to see that holder of the beyblade, Meteo L-Drago was standing right in front of Ash, looking down on the frightened trainer and Pokémon.

"Don't tell me he's participating too…" Masamune whispered to Tsubasa.

"He probably is…" Tsubasa replied. Ryuga then walked over and picked up a form, filling it out, and then walked over to the registration booth to get it checked. Everyone was still wide-eyed at his appearance at the tournament at all, even Trip. He then left to the inside of the stadium, smirking at the frightened trainers.

"Man, what a shock!" Ash said as he stood up.

"To think that Ryuga would also compete in this tournament as well…" Cilan said, "It's unimaginable…"

"He may be a good trainer," Iris began to say, "but he has such a creepy atmosphere around him…"

"Not to mention, the last time we saw him on Milos Island, his Accelgor was able to hold his own against Tornadus and Thundurus!" Tsubasa noted. Everyone was silent as they continued to fill out their forms for their registration. By the time they were all done, everyone handed their forms in at the booth. Georgia was about to hand her form in when she felt something hug her from behind.

"Simi Simi!" said a voice from behind her. Georgia smiled as she realized who it was and turned to see that a Simipour was hugging her happily, looking like she was glad to her again.

"Cool, a Simipour!" Ash said as he took out his Pokedex. The device Ash held split into two screens, one showing Simipour herself, and the other displaying information about the water monkey.

"_Simipour: The Geyser Pokémon & the evolved form of Panpour. Simipour prefers places with clean water. When its tuft runs low, Simipour replenishes it by siphoning up water with its tail_, the Pokedex stated.

"So, is that Simipour yours?" Burgundy asked as she finished handing her form in.

"Nope," Georgia replied, "But she belongs to someone just as special." The group then turned to see a surprising sight. Gingka Hagane was walking towards the registration booth, looking as proud as ever.

"Gingka!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, running over to his friend. Iris, Cilan, Masamune, Tsubasa, and Hinata, whom had recovered from fainting also jogged over to see him. "You're back!" Ash said happily.

"Yep!" Gingka said as Simipour jumped on his shoulder.

"So is that your Simipour?" Iris asked.

"Sure is!" Gingka replied, "We've only been with each other for a while, but we definitely are the best of friends!"

"Simi Simipour!" Simipour agreed.

"So, how many badges do you have now?" Ash asked.

"Seven," Gingka replied, "I'm gonna get the last one after this tournament so that I now I'm ready to get it!"

"That's great!" Ash said. He then realized something, and his cheerful look vanished.

"What's up?" Gingka asked, looking at his friend.

"Ryuga's in this tournament too…" Ash said looking down. Surprisingly, Gingka just chuckled at the mention of Ryuga's name, and smiled.

"Hey, the more the merrier, right?" he asked joyfully. Ash then smiled at his confidence. The group, along with Gingka finished filling out and passing in their registration forms before heading into the stadium.

"Oh, Gingka wait a second!" Ash said as he reached into his pocket. Gingka stopped to Ash pull out Pegasus, his beyblade. He smiled brightly as he received his beyblade back from Ash.

"Thanks Ash," he said, looking at Pegasus as it gleamed in the sun.

"All right folks, are you ready to get this tournament started?!" Freddy O'Martin shouted over the microphone, making the stadium's crowd cheer loudly. "Then get be prepared as we're about to declare this Pokémon Club Battle Ninja Tournament begin!" Freddy boomed on the loudspeaker. "Introducing, our host for this tournament, the Icirrus Battle Club's one and only, Don George!" he introduced as a large, mustached man, with a light blue-collar sleeveless shirt, and a light blue belt came up to the broadcast booth. He then picked up a microphone from the table Freddy was sitting at and began to speak.

"Thanks a bunch for the introduction Freddy!" Don George boomed, "Now it's my turn to introduce a special co-host that will be talking alongside us for the upcoming battles of this tournament!" The center of the stadium was suddenly covered in a white mist. "The gym leader of Icirrus City, also a famous movie actor, the Ice Mask, Brycen!" Don George exclaimed as a man jumped out of the mist, wearing a light blue mask and robe, landing right between Don and Freddy. The entire stadium was filled with cheers as Brycen bowed to the crowd as the mist cleared.

"Thank you for the introduction, Don George," Brycen said, holding a microphone, "Now I'm proud to announce the Ninja Tournament, open!" he exclaimed as shots of confetti blew into the air.

"Cool, Brycen's here too!" Ash exclaimed, "That gets me so stoked!" he said as he pumped his fist.

"The Ninja Tournament…" Cilan pointed out, "A mysterious, yet spicy name! I can't wait to see the flavor of the battles that ensue!"

"Well for one thing, I can't wait for you to stop being so ridiculous…" Iris sighed.

"Axew Ax!" Axew said, pointing at the large screen above the broadcast booth. The screen looked divided into two separate columns, each with sixteen trainer places on each side.

"That's odd…" Cilan noted, "Why is it divided into two columns?" he asked. The connoisseur then noticed Tsubasa looking around at all the trainers.

"Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen…" he counted, "That can't be right…"

"What's the matter Tsubasa?" Cilan asked as he walked over to his friend.

"There's only sixteen trainers here, counting all of us…" Tsubasa explained.

"So, where are the other sixteen?" Cilan wondered. Just then, Freddy lifted up his microphone to speak.

"Now folks, we'll introduce out two teams competing in this tournament!" he exclaimed.

"Teams?!" Cilan exclaimed in shock.

"For our first team, we have an outstanding roster of trainers!" he said as he pointed towards the area where Ash and everyone else was, "So, what's your team name?" he asked.

"Team name?" Ash said in surprise, "All of us are a team now?" he asked as he looked at everyone else, who were having mixed feelings about the idea of being on a team together.

"Hey Gingka, why don't you pick our team name?" Iris suggested, "Since you came back, it's only fair that you pick." Gingka nodded upon Iris' suggestion just as he thought of something.

"The Galaxy Trainers!" he exclaimed.

"The Galaxy Trainers?" Ash said, confused, but then smiled at the idea. "Sounds good to me!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.

"How about you guys?" Ash asked everyone else. They either replied with a nod or a "Yep!" while Trip and Ryuga didn't really care what their team name was.

"The Galaxy Trainers it is then!" Freddy boomed over the microphone, with the crowd cheering once again. "So with our first team being the ever so faithful Galaxy Trainers, let's introduce our second team!" Just then there was creaking noise from the opposite side the Galaxy Trainers were of the stadium. A sliding door had opened, and walking out of it were the other sixteen trainers mentioned earlier.

Naruto and Hinata gasped in surprise. "S-Sakura?! Sai?! Kakashi Sensei?!" he said in shock.

"K-Kiba?! Shino?!" Hinata also asked, surprised as Naruto was.

"Naruto, you know those guys?" Ash asked.

Naruto nodded, "They're all my friends and teachers," he said, still in shock, "But what're they doing here?" he asked himself.

"I would like to present to you the Shinobi 16!" Freddy screamed over the microphone. The group across from the Galaxy Trainers were consisted of Kakashi, Captain Yamato, Sai, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and even Killer Bee.

"Wow, they all look pretty tough!" Stephan pointed out.

"Agreed," Cilan said, "I bet it won't be so easy to beat them."

"We'll just have to do our best, right guys?" Gingka asked the group.

"Right!" they all said, nodding in agreement.

Don George then stood up to speak. "All right trainers," he began to say into the microphone, "The first round will consist of single battle matches, each match pitting a Galaxy Trainer against one of the Shinobi 16," he explained, "Furthermore, all matches will be selected at random, so when your card is up, that's when you battle it out!"

"So the matches are all selected at random…" Cilan noted.

"That means we won't know who we're facing until one of our cards is put up," Georgia explained. Suddenly, the cards mentioned on the board began moving around in random directions, shuffling into different positions. They moved up and down, and side to side.

"The first match up of the first round is…" Don George began to say, as two blank cards made their way to the center of the screen. They both flipped to reveal the first match up. "Kakashi versus Tsubasa!" Tsubasa looked over to the side of the Shinobi 16, looking for Kakashi. Wearing his forehead protector so that it covered one eye, along with his mask covering most of his face, Kakashi was also glancing at Tsubasa, interested to see what he had in store for him in battle.

"Let's do this," Tsubasa said, stretching his fingerless gloves.

Kakashi jumped over the wall, going to his position on the battlefield. Tsubasa was just about to leave and take his position too, when Naruto stopped him.

"Naruto, what is it?" he asked.

"Kakashi Sensei is my teacher," Naruto began to explain, "He might be pretty tough for you to handle…"

The S-Class connoisseur just grinned. "Don't worry, I'll have a plan," he said confidently as he jumped over the wall on the Galaxy Trainer's side of the field.

"I sure hope you will…" Naruto said in worry.

"All right folks, our first match of the first pits the masked man Kakashi against S-Class Pokémon Connoisseur Tsubasa!" Freddy O'Martin boomed over the microphone. As Tsubasa got over the white lined box on his side where he would be making commands for his Pokémon, he noticed the battlefield opened up and split into two, retracting the pieces of the regular field to each side.

"W-What's going on?!" Tsubasa asked, suddenly nervous.

"Oh, they're just changing the stadium's environment," Kakashi said coolly, "Nothing to worry about." Tsubasa cringed at the idea that there also was a changing stadium environment. For the last tournament he entered didn't have this kind of battle aspect.

"So folks, what will the stadium be?" Don George asked the crowd. Just then, something emerged from the hole that the first field had left. It was another field, but conversely, it was only a large amount of logs sticking up from the metal ground all of them in different places, with a large stump in the middle with the Poke Ball symbol in it to represent the battlefield. Tsubasa was still worried that there was more to this stadium than his eyes could currently see, and he was right. Water began to gush out from the sides of the field, almost submerging the logs, but leaving them standing up straight, while others were not so balanced.

"The water log field!" O'Martin boomed, "What an interesting field to battle upon!"

"Indeed," Don agreed, "Brycen, what do you think these trainers will need to overcome the obstacles of the current field?" he asked the gym leader.

"It all depends on what type of Pokémon the trainers each use, not to mention if they are to remain on the logs, then they'll need to find their balance…" Brycen noted.

"Not to mention, the water doesn't look too safe when those unbalanced logs could possibly topple over into the water onto a Pokémon perhaps!" O'Martin added.

"So let's see what kind of Pokémon Tsubasa and Kakashi have in store for us!" Don shouted into the microphone. A referee came out to the middle of the field, on the side.

"All right trainers, this is a one on one battle with no substitutions," the referee announced, "Furthermore, if one side's Pokémon is unable to continue battling, then the match will be over. Are both of you ready?" the referee asked.

"Yeah!" Tsubasa and Kakashi said.

"Then let the battle begin!" the referee announced as he swung his arm down.

"Watchog, go!" Kakashi exclaimed, throwing a Poke Ball into the air. The ball opened and emerging from it was the bright blue and white lights that formed into the brown furred, yellow-striped, red eyed, Lookout Pokémon, Watchog.

"Watch Watchog!" he exclaimed as he landed on a floating log, finding perfect balance.

"Whoa check that out!" Ash exclaimed.

"That Watchog found balance in no time flat!" Stephan noted.

"What do you know!" Freddy echoed, "Watchog is already firmly balanced on the log, making it seem like an easy task!"

"Now, let's see what Tsubasa has to counter Watchog's balance…" Don George added.

Tsubasa began to ponder. '_Let's see, Watchog's a Normal type, and has good balance from what I can see, so maybe I should fight that balance from the air with Unfezant…_' he thought as he looked at the water, '_Or maybe I should try battling from the environments I've been given!_' he exclaimed in his head as he took out a Poke Ball. "Alomomola, you're up!" Tsubasa exclaimed, throwing his ball out into the open air. The ball opened, and the light coming from it formed into the pink fish, and the Caring Pokémon, Alomomola.

"Mola~," she sang excitedly as she splashed into the water.

"Alomomola, huh?" Ash said as he reached for his Pokedex. Splitting into two screens again, the Pokedex now stated facts about Alomomola.

"_Alomomola: The Caring Pokémon. Alomomola gently holds injured and weak Pokémon in its fins. Its special membrane heals their wounds,_" the Pokedex stated.

"Sounds like a pretty helpful Pokémon!" Masamune said.

"Yes," Cilan agreed, "But I hope Tsubasa does all right…"

"Alomomola, use Aqua Jet!" Tsubasa ordered. The Caring Pokémon shot off like a rocket as she became encased in a stream of water heading directly for Watchog.

"Watchog, dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Kakashi called out. The standing squirrel jumped out the path of Alomomola's Aqua Jet and landed safely on another log, then he began to charge up electricity, launching a bolt of lightning heading for Alomomola, who landed back in the water.

"Alomomola, Protect!" Tsubasa called out. Alomomola covered herself in a light blue shield as the Thunderbolt struck, which did absolutely nothing to her whatsoever.

"A great defense displayed by Tsubasa and Alomomola!" O'Martin boomed.

"Not bad," Kakashi complimented, "But this battle's only getting started! Watchog, Shadow Ball!" he ordered. The Lookout Pokémon created a black ball of energy in front of his stomach and launched it towards Alomomola.

"Counter it with Water Pulse!" Tsubasa called out. Alomomola jumped out of the water, creating a sphere of water from her mouth, and the launching it at the Shadow Ball. Both moves collided, resulting in a small explosion that covered the field in smoke.

"And the entire field in shrouded with smoke!" O'Martin exclaimed, "What will the trainers do next?"

"Watchog, Super Fang!" Kakashi ordered. As Alomomola swam through the smoke in the water, searching for Watchog, the Lookout Pokémon ambushed her by sinking his glowing white tooth into her top fin.

"No way!" Tsubasa exclaimed in shock.

"Now use Thunderbolt!" Kakashi commanded. Watchog then jumped back onto a log, finding his balance, and then shooting another bolt of lightning, which struck Alomomola badly.

"Whoa!" Stephan exclaimed, "How did Watchog find Alomomola in all that smoke?" he asked.

"I would have to guess Watchog's ability is Keen Eye," Cilan noted, "Even in that smoke, it was still able to detect Alomomola's presence…"

Alomomola was cringing at the pain of Watchog's Super Fang and Thunderbolt as she splashed back into the water. '_Now what do we do?_' Tsubasa asked himself as he saw Watchog land safely on another log. He then suddenly realized something. '_If balance is what Watchog needs then… That's it!_'

"Watchog, finish this up with Hyper Beam!" Kakashi ordered. Upon the command, Watchog created a sphere of sparkling red energy, which then turned into a laser beam headed directly for Alomomola.

"Alomomola, dodge it and use Water Pulse on that log!" he called out, pointing to the log, which Watchog was standing on. Alomomola easily avoided the Hyper Beam and created another sphere of water, firing it at the log, and striking it, making the log begin to shake.

"Wa Wa Watchog?!" Watchog asked as he was losing his balance. This also surprised Kakashi as well.

"Watchog, jump away!" he called out. But Watchog couldn't find his balance and was afraid he'd end up in the water if he tried.

"Now, use Water Pulse on Watchog!" Tsubasa ordered. Alomomola launched another Water Pulse, hitting Watchog right in the face, sending him flying onto the large stump in the center of the field. However, when he got up, he looked completely unbalanced as he began spinning around the stump, almost falling into the water a couple of times.

"Watchog, what's wrong?!" Kakashi asked.

"Watchog's confused!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

"All right, finish it up Tsubasa!" Gingka cheered.

"Alomomola, wrap this battle up with Wake-Up Slap!" Tsubasa ordered, waving his hand. Both Alomomola's top and bottom fins began to glow white as she raced towards Watchog, whom was still stumbling. She then jumped out of the water, and span as she struck Watchog fiercely, sending him crashing into the water.

"Watchog!" Kakashi exclaimed. A few seconds later, Watchog floated up on his back, his eyes in swirls.

"Watchog is unable to battle, Alomomola wins, and therefore, the victor is Tsubasa!" the referee announced. The giant flat screen then showed Kakashi's card being completely erased as Tsubasa's went into the center, with a "WINNER" title right below to indicate he won the battle. Everyone cheered loudly, clapping and applauding Tsubasa's victory.

"Way to go Tsubasa!" Gingka cheered.

"Who would've thought he'd beat Kakashi Sensei…" Naruto said, a little jealous that he didn't get to face his teacher himself.

"Great battle Alomomola," Tsubasa said as he kneeled to his fish Pokémon with her Poke Ball in hand, "Take a good rest," he said, returning her to the ball. He then saw Kakashi returning his Watchog as well, sighing about his defeat. "That was a good battle!" Tsubasa shouted to him, "I hope we get to face each other another time!" Though he had his mask on, Tsubasa knew Kakashi grinned at the thought of facing him again.

"Now that battle was a great kick off for the Ninja Tournament!" Freddy said.

"Indeed, using great tactics and power is the best way to bring out your Pokémon's strength, along with your burning passion for battle," Don George added.

"Now, let's take a look at what our second match up will be like!" Freddy announced as the screen shuffled the remaining 30 cards on the board. Two blank cards finally made their way to the center of the screen, flipping over to reveal the match up. "Kiba versus Trip!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Sounds like this'll be an exciting match up!" Don said.

"Hey Trip, good luck!" Ash said as Trip jumped onto the field.

"I won't need it," he replied walking off to his position.

"Jeez, what's his deal?" Ash asked as he watched Trip take his position. Trip's opponent, Kiba had on a dark colored jacket and pants, along with red marks on his cheeks that resembled fangs. The field then began to change again, this time, the battlefield that emerged was a rocky land based battlefield.

"Looks like a familiar field to me!" Freddy said.

"Regardless of the field, I'm excited to see what kind of battle these two trainers will have," Don George said.

"First, we have the hound handler Kiba!" Freddy introduced, "Along with his opponent being the genius trainer Trip!" The whole crowd cheered loudly as the two trainers took their positions.

"All right then, are both trainers ready?" the referee asked.

"Yes!" they both said.

"Then let the battle begin!" the referee exclaimed, swinging his arm down.

"Stoutland, show him what you got!" Kiba called out as he threw his Poke Ball. The ball opened, with the light coming from it revealing the Big-Hearted Pokémon, Stoutland.

"Vanillish, you're up!" Trip exclaimed throwing his Poke Ball as well. The light from the ball formed into what appeared to be an ice cream cone of a Pokémon, also known as the Icy Snow Pokémon, Vanillish. The two Pokémon glared at each other as they were about to battle.

"Great battle Tsubasa!" Gingka said happily.

"Totally!" Ash agreed, "Alomomola was awesome!"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu complimented.

"Thanks you guys," Tsubasa said. Just then another person came up, shoving Gingka and Ash out of the way.

"Pardon me Tsubasa," Burgundy said, "that battle was most riveting, like the finest of wines!"

Tsubasa let a sweat drop go by as he sighed. "Uh… thanks Burgundy," he said. He really didn't want to talk to the C-Class connoisseuse, for she had been obsessed with him being an S-Class connoisseur for quite some time.

"A fine flavored battle indeed Tsubasa!" Cilan exclaimed, "One that simply brings out the marvels of you and your Alomomola!" Tsubasa smiled in agreement, for Cilan had inspired him as long as he can remember, and enjoyed receiving feedback from him. Burgundy however, was not happy that Tsubasa enjoyed his praise rather than hers.

"Cilan, don't you dare interfere with my evaluations of this esteemed connoisseur, compared to your bad tastes," she said with a huff, and then walked off.

"Oh boy…" Ash said, knowing that this would be a long tournament. He then turned his attention back to the field as he Trip faring well against Kiba.

"Stoutland, Fire Fang!" Kiba ordered. The large dog's mouth was filled fire as he jumped in the air to strike the floating ice cream cone.

"Aim for Stoutland's mouth with Ice Beam!" Trip commanded. Vanillish then created a bright blue sphere in front of his mouth, which shot multiple zigzag lines directly into Stoutland's mouth, resulting in the dog's mouth being filled with steam.

"What an effective tactic!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Stoutland!" Kiba exclaimed as the dog fell to the rocky ground. "All right then, use Take Down!" Kiba commanded. Stoutland immediately stood up and charged towards Vanillish again, covered in a yellow aura. However, Vanillish easily maneuvered and avoided every single chance Stoutland tried to strike him.

"Vanillish, Mirror Shot!" Trip ordered. Vanillish's body then became coated in steel as he created a ball of metal, shooting it at Stoutland, sending him flying back to the other side of the field.

"Come on Stoutland, we're not finished!" Kiba called out as Stoutland tried to stand up.

"It looks like Stoutland's on the ropes," Don George said.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Kiba said, "Stoutland, Hyper Beam!" he ordered. Stoutland then created a sphere of red, sparkling energy, which became a laser beam aimed for Vanillish. But Vanillish just floated in the same without even trying to dodge.

"Trip, watch out!" Ash called out to his rival. Vanillish took a direct hit from the Hyper Beam, resulting in an explosion, with smoke across the entire field. Fortunately, the smoke cleared in a matter of seconds thanks to the wind.

"Looks like we got him!" Kiba exclaimed happily, but he wrong by a long shot.

"Vanillish, Mirror Coat!" Trip ordered. All of a sudden, the smoke on Trip's side cleared to reveal Vanillish still in one piece, glowing in a pink aura, and then launching his own Hyper Beam right back at Stoutland, exploding on impact.

"What the heck?!" Kiba shouted, as smoke and dust blew into his face. The smoke cleared once again to reveal Stoutland lying down on the ground with his eyes swirled up.

"Stoutland is unable to battle, Vanillish wins, and therefore the victor is Trip!" the referee announced. The crowd cheered again as the big screen showed Kiba's card being erased, and Trip being indicated as the winner of the battle.

"Good job Vanillish," Trip said as he returned his Icy Snow Pokémon to his Poke Ball. Kiba also returned his Stoutland, and walked off the field upset that he lost.

"It's too bad Kiba didn't win…" Hinata said, upset for her ninja friend.

"Ah, man…" he moaned in complaint, "I can't believe I lost so easily…" "Don't worry!" Sakura reassured him, "We'll get those wins back in no time!" she said.

"All right folks, as of right now, Tsubasa and Trip are moving on to the second round!" Freddy announced.

"Looks like the Galaxy Trainers have the early momentum," Don George commented, "Let's see if the Shinobi 16 can pull themselves together for the next couple of battles!"

"Great battle Trip!" Ash complimented, "Vanillish's Mirror Coat was awesome!"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed. Trip just smiled at his rival's compliments. Though he didn't care what his rival thought of him, it was nice to know he was being acknowledged for his strength.

"Hey, they're shuffling the cards again!" Stephan exclaimed. Ash and Trip looked up at the screen to see the remaining 28 cards being shuffled randomly yet again, with only two coming up to the front of the screen, flipping over to reveal the third match up.

"It's Rock Lee versus Ash!" Freddy exclaimed.

"I'm up next!" Ash exclaimed, "That's totally awesome, right buddy?" he asked Pikachu.

"Pika Pikachu!" the yellow mouse cooed in excitement.

"Good luck Ash!" Iris and Stephan said.

"You'll win for sure!" Bianca said.

"Show them what you got!" Ben said.

"Give everything you into your battle Ash!" Rex said.

"Put all that training to good use!" Cilan said.

Ash nodded, and then turned to Gingka, who reached out his hand for a fist bump which Ash gladly gave back before he rushed out onto the field.

"Good luck," Trip said, surprising Ash, but making him smile nonetheless. The field had begun to change once again, this time the field was covered by ice, with stalagmites all around, along with the slippery ice as the ground.

"Well, what a treat!" Freddy exclaimed, "It seems these trainers are lucky enough to have Brycen's ice field as their battlefield for this match up!"

"So Brycen, what do you recommend these trainers do about this ice themed battle?" Don George asked.

"Their Pokémon need to use the momentum they gain from sliding to their advantage," Brycen said, "They'll also need to understand to use their environments as their advantage as well."

"True good words from a true good gym leader!" Freddy complimented, "Now let's introduce our next two trainers!"

"To my right, we have the martial arts master, Rock Lee!" Don George introduced, "And to my left, we have the strength of spirit trainer, Ash!"

"Greetings Ash!" Lee said, "It is a pleasure to meet you!"

"Same here!" Ash replied, "Now let's get this battle started!"

"Are both of you ready?" the referee asked.

"Yes!" Ash and Lee said.

"Then, let the battle begin!" the referee announced, swinging his arm down.

"Come on out Throh!" Lee exclaimed as he threw his Poke Ball into the air, "Show them just what we can do!" The ball opened, and the light from it revealed the Judo Pokémon, Throh, wearing his black belt with pride. Stephan took out his Pokedex upon seeing Throh.

"_Throh: The Judo Pokémon. When Throh encounters a foe bigger than himself, he wants to throw it. Throh changes belts as he gets stronger_," the Pokedex stated.

"Throh a fighting type…" Cilan noted, "So the best option of Pokémon choice that Ash can have would be Unfezant!" However, Ash had other plans to take on Lee's Throh.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" he exclaimed.

"Pika!" the yellow mouse replied, running onto the battlefield, his red cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Pikachu?!" Iris asked, shocked Ash would make such a decision. "I hope Ash knows what he's doing…"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash commanded. Pikachu began to charge onward towards Throh with a stream of white coming from behind him.

"Throh, Bulk Up!" Lee ordered. Throh's muscles suddenly expanded as he crossed his arms over his face to block Pikachu's Quick Attack. Pikachu skidded backwards on the ice as he tried to find his footing, which he did successfully.

"Good strategy," Neji pointed, "Using Bulk Up will not only increase Throh's attack power, but will also work as a good defense for physical attacks."

"That's pretty smart for Lee," Tenten noted.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash ordered. Pikachu's lightning bolt tail became coated in tail as he was about to strike Throh.

"Chu Pika!" he screamed as he was about to strike.

"Throh, get Pikachu away from you with Storm Throw!" Lee called out. Throh then grabbed Pikachu's Iron Tail before he could strike as the arm he used to grab him turned light blue, and then looked like a storm as he tossed Pikachu fiercely, sending him into a block of ice, smashing it to pieces.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed in worry. He was relieved when he saw Pikachu emerge from the chunks of ice, looking very angry.

"Storm Throw's a move that always results in a critical hit," Stephan noted, "Ash, Pikachu, be careful!" he called out.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack from the side!" Ash said pointing to an ice block near Throh. Pikachu understood what his trainer was planning and ran speedily, jumping onto the ice block and then jumping towards Throh, striking him in the face, sending him spinning, and then crashing into the icy ground.

"Not bad Ash!" Lee complimented, "But this is far from over!" Throh then got up right away from hearing his trainer call out.

"THROOOOHHHHHH!" he shouted into the air.

"Throh seems to be as persistent to fight as ever!" Freddy exclaimed.

"With his trainer by his side, it seems like nothing can stop Throh!" Don George commented.

"We'll just have to wait and see…" Brycen said coolly, looking down at Ash and Pikachu.

"Bulk Up!" Lee ordered.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu shot a huge bolt of lightning directly for Throh, whom was expanding his muscles yet again. The Thunderbolt struck Throh, hitting him painfully, but Throh used his strength to break the Thunderbolt away from him.

"Excellent!" Lee exclaimed, "Now use Body Slam!" he ordered. Throh then jumped into the air as was about to dive upon Pikachu.

"Quick Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash called out. Pikachu jumped out of Throh's intended path for the Body Slam, but the shockwave that came from it knocked Pikachu back quite a bit. Not to mention, the collision with the ground left mist covering the field.

"Now Throh!" Lee ordered, "Seismic Toss!" Throh then jumped out of the mist, grasping Pikachu by his tail as the Judo Pokémon jumped into the air.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out. Pikachu couldn't do a thing, for Throh had him grasped tightly as he somersaulted in the air, sending Pikachu hurdling towards the ground, shattering the ice.

"What an attack!" Freddy exclaimed, "With all that power, Throh seems invincible!"

"Oh dear…" Iris said as she watched Pikachu struggle to get back up.

"Axew…" Axew also said in worry.

"Guess that's it," Ryuga said bluntly. Gingka glared at him before he ran to the field wall.

"Come on Ash and Pikachu! Don't give in now!" he shouted to them, "You guys wanna battle me, right?" he asked them.

"Gingka…" Ash said, surprised Gingka would say something like that.

"Pi… Pika!" Pikachu said, getting up from the shattered ice crater.

"Are you still able to continue?" the referee asked.

"Yeah, of course we are!" Ash said.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said with his cheeks sparking.

"Battle resume then!" the referee said.

"Bring it on!" Lee said excitedly. Just then Throh was beginning to look weakened. "What's the matter Throh?!" Lee asked in worry. Throh's body was sparking with electricity all over, looking like he was paralyzed.

"It's Pikachu's Static ability!" Cilan exclaimed, "Now that Throh is paralyzed, Ash might have a shot to win now!"

"Go for it Ash!" Masamune cheered.

"Ax Axew!" Axew cheered too.

"All right Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!" Pikachu replied as he jumped into the air. He then began to generate electricity as a ball of it formed upon his tail.

"Static will not stop us!" Lee exclaimed, "Throh, finish this battle with Seismic Toss!" he ordered. Throh, disregarding his current paralysis, jumped into the air, ready to grab Pikachu again. The Mouse Pokémon was just about to launch his attack when Throh accidentally struck it with his hand, meaning to grab Pikachu's tail.

"Hey, that looks like…" Naruto began to say, but disregarded it as the Electro Ball knocked Throh straight down, crashing into the icy ground, leaving a huge shroud of mist and smoke from the shattered ice.

"Throh!" Lee shouted. Pikachu landed back on the ground just as the mist had cleared to reveal a crater of ice with Throh in the center, his eyes in swirls.

"Throh is unable to battle, Pikachu wins, and therefore the victor is Ash!" the referee announced.

"All right Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as his partner jumped into his arms for a big hug. The entire crowd cheered as the screen revealed Lee's card gone, and Ash's being seen as the winner of this battle.

"You did a good job Throh," Lee said to his fallen Pokémon, "Take a good rest," he said, returning him to his respective Poke Ball. He then walked over to Ash before returning to his side of the stadium. "Ash!" he called out getting his attention, "That was a tremendous battle," he said holding out his hand for a handshake.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it!" Ash said, accepting Lee's hand, shaking it gently.

"A trainer as strong and youthful as you are… I hope to be that kind of trainer too someday!" Lee said with passion.

"Of course!" Ash said happily.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu said.

"Three defeats in a row…" Neji noted, "We could be in trouble…" "We'll get those victories back by the end of the day," Sakura said confidently, "There's no way the Galaxy Trainers are going to outshine us!" she said, clenching her fist.

"That was incredible Ash!" Gingka complimented his friend.

"A true taste of your strength that your Pokémon obtained!" Cilan added.

"Thanks Gingka! Thanks Cilan!" Ash said.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said too.

"I've got to admit too," Trip began to say, "Even though you did get kind of lucky with Static, you have gotten a lot better." Ash and Pikachu beamed at Trip's unexpected praise as they were both filled with joy to be heading to the second round.

"All these amazing battles are working up my appetite!" Don George said, patting his stomach.

"Don't worry Don!" Freddy said, "After this next battle, we'll give these trainers a much needed lunch break!" he announced, "So without further ado, here's the fourth match up for round one!" The screen began to shuffle cards once again, with only 26 remaining. Two cards made their way to the center of the screen, flipping over to reveal the match that would lead to well deserved lunch. "The fourth match up is Tenten versus Cilan!" Freddy boomed, making the crowd cheer even more.

"Good luck Tenten!" Lee encouraged.

"Don't worry," Tenten said, "I've got this one handled!" She then jumped over the wall and went to her position.

"You're up Cilan!" Ash exclaimed.

"All right, let's have a battle to be proud of!" Cilan said, jumping onto the field excitedly.

"Let us introduce our two battlers!" Don George shouted.

"We have the mistress of tools and weapons, Tenten!" Freddy announced, "And her opponent, the A-Class Connoisseur and former Striaton Gym Leader, Cilan!" The two trainers took their positions on the field, which had changed once again, into a muddy marsh environment.

"The perfect stage!" Cilan said enlarging a Poke Ball, "Time to shine, Stunfisk!" he exclaimed as he threw it into the air. Emerging from it, the light formed into the Trap Pokémon, Stunfisk.

"Stun Stunfisk!" he cried out excitedly.

"Here we go Escavalier!" Tenten exclaimed as she threw her own Poke Ball, which opened to reveal the Cavalry Pokémon, Escavalier.

"Escavalier!" he cried out, readying his lances.

"All right, are you both ready?" the referee asked.

"Yes!" the two trainers both said with a nod.

"Then let the battle begin!" the referee said, swinging his arm down.

That's all for this chapter of the tournament arc! Leave any questions or comments in the reviews you leave please!


	2. Turnaround! Leavanny VS Gothitelle!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope everyone liked the first chapter! I hope you enjoy this one too! Please remember, I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY CHARACTER BASHING WHATSOEVER. Please Enjoy!

The crowd was roaring loudly as the fourth battle of the tournament was about to get underway. Tenten and Cilan each looked back at each other and began to wonder what move they would each call out first. Ash then took out his Pokedex to scan Escavalier.

"_Escavalier: The Cavalry Pokémon, and the evolved form of Karrablast. Wearing the shell covering they stole from Shelmet, they defend themselves and attack with two lances,_" the Pokedex stated as Ash looked upon the information.

"Let's see," Don George began to say, "Escavalier is a Bug and Steel type, while Stunfisk is a Ground and Electric type," he noted.

"Looks like type advantage won't be the big factor here!" Freddy O'Martin announced, "So Brycen, what do you think the main advantage either of these trainers will need in order to win this battle?" he asked the Ice Mask.

"Hmm…" Brycen said as he thought, "It all depends on what types of moves the trainers ask for, not to mention the terrain of the battlefield would make perfect camouflage for a Pokémon such as Stunfisk," he explained thoroughly.

"Sounds like Cilan has the advantage then!" Freddy said.

On that note, Cilan snapped his fingers as he twirled once. "It's evaluation time!" he announced. The whole crowd started to go crazy on his announcement. Tenten blinked in confusion, Iris and Ash both face palmed, Tsubasa watched carefully, and Burgundy just glared at the A-Class Connoisseur with anger in her eyes. Everyone else just merely shrugged it off, like it wasn't a big deal.

"What's with you?" Tenten asked in confusion. Escavalier also raised an eyebrow at the opponent's sudden announcement.

"As a Pokémon Connoisseur, it is my duty to make evaluations for any trainer I come across in battle," Cilan said with pride, "Tenten, I hope you make me experience a battle that glistens as bright as your Escavalier's armor!"

Once again, Tenten blinked in confusion. She had no idea how Cilan operated, so she just shrugged it off. "All right then, if that's what you want waiter boy, then we'll give to you full force!"

"Waiter boy?" Cilan asked.

"Escavalier, X-Scissor!" Tenten ordered. All of a sudden, the Cavalry Pokémon's lances turned a bluish purple as he sped towards the flat fish, the lances being crossed like an x.

"Stunfisk, Thundershock!" Cilan commanded. Stunfisk then began to smile as he generated electricity all over his body, letting out a small bolt of electricity that hit Escavalier before he could strike. "Excellent!" Cilan exclaimed, "The true taste of a paralyzing effect!"

"Looks like Stunfisk has the upper hand!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Don't be so sure…" Tenten said with a smirk.

"Huh?" Cilan asked.

"Escavalier, shove your lances into the ground!" Tenten called out. The warrior Pokémon, whom was still being hit with Stunfisk's Thundershock, shoved his lances into the ground. Then, the electricity that Stunfisk had attacked him with was redirected, and sent down into the muddy ground.

"Oh my!" Cilan exclaimed, surprisingly joyful.

"Stunfisk…" Stunfisk said in shock, for his only Electric type move was now rendered useless.

"How do like that?" Tenten said, placing a hand on her hip.

"Truly a good strategy to deal with an electric type, using Escavalier lances as a lightning rod…" Cilan began to note, "A marvel I have had yet to see until now!"

"Doesn't that also mean he's in trouble since Stunfisk's Thundershock won't work now?!" Iris shouted, "Come on Cilan, be serious!"

"Escavalier, Iron Head!" Tenten commanded. The crest on Escavalier's head suddenly turned into steel as he swung it down, straight for Stunfisk.

"Stunfisk, Bounce!" Cilan called out. Stunfisk then jumped high in the air as Escavalier crashed his crest into the mud. "Now, use Scald!" Cilan ordered. Stunfisk then shot a beam of steamy water, directly for Escavalier.

"Dodge it, quick!" Tenten shouted. Escavalier moved away quickly, as the boiling water splashed only into the mud.

"Now let's see if you can handle Stunfisk's Bounce!" Cilan called out as the Trap Pokémon continued to drop down towards Escavalier.

"Escavalier, counter it with Giga Impact!" Tenten ordered. Escavalier then became encased in a pink aura with yellow streams surrounding the aura as he charged upwards, striking Stunfisk right in the gut. Stunfisk took the major blow and fell to the ground hard, while Escavalier fell right back to where he originally was, but he found that he could not move.

"When a Pokémon uses Giga Impact, the user has to recharge for a while before making another move," Tsubasa explained, "Cilan has an opening now!"

"Get 'em Cilan!" Ash and Gingka both cheered.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu cheered too.

"All right, Stunfisk, time for Mud Bomb!" Cilan exclaimed with a snap. As badly damaged as he was from that Giga Impact, Stunfisk still jumped into the air again, only this time, he launched a ball of mud directly from his mouth, hitting Escavalier in the face. "Great work Stunfisk!" Cilan complimented.

"Stunfisk!" the Trap Pokémon replied happily, but his joy would not last.

"Escava…" Escavalier growled as the smoke cleared. He was still standing, and was very angry.

"Looks like Escavalier isn't finished yet!" Don George exclaimed.

"An offensive and defensive Pokémon!" Cilan exclaimed in surprise, "Like a food that isn't too sour, or too sweet!"

Tenten was getting annoyed by Cilan's antics now, for they were even worse than Lee's. "Okay, let's get serious!" she said angrily, "Energy Ball!" she ordered. The Cavalry Pokémon then suddenly formed a ball of green energy upon his lances, and then tossed it at Stunfisk. The explosion that resulted was brief, but Stunfisk was still sent flying from that move, for he didn't fare so well against Grass type attacks.

"Escavalier knows Energy Ball?!" Stephan asked.

"That's much stronger than my Escavalier!" Bianca said, awing the Pokémon's strength. '_This isn't looking good for Cilan at all…_' Tsubasa said in his head. Burgundy on the other hand, was enjoying the Connoisseur being beat down.

"How marvelous!" she exclaimed, "I get to watch Cilan fall to his knees right in the first round!"

Iris sighed, "Can she be any more of a pain?" she asked sarcastically.

"Axew Ax…" Axew sighed.

Cilan was still unfazed by Escavalier surprising tactics, as Stunfisk had been able to endure them for quite some time. "Now I see that Escavalier has quite the array of tricks!" Cilan said, "Like a dish with many different unexpected flavor-"

"Shut up already!" Tenten screamed as she finally snapped, "This is a Pokémon battle, not a time to give me advice!"

Cilan was surprised by her outburst. "But that's what a Pokémon Connoisseur like me is supposed to do-"

"That's it!" Tenten shouted, "Escavalier, X-Scissor!" Once again, Escavalier's lances turned a bluish purple as he crossed them into an x, and then swung them down at Stunfisk. Cilan knew his electric flounder was in trouble.

"Stunfisk, dodge it!" he called out in worry. Stunfisk moved back just in time before Escavalier struck.

"Energy Ball!" Tenten ordered. Another ball of green energy was created on Escavalier's right lance, which he then tossed, striking Stunfisk in the face, sending him flying back to Cilan.

"Stun…" he said, struggling to hold on.

"Grrr…" Cilan growled in frustration, "Use Scald!" he ordered. Stunfisk then shot another beam of hot water right for Escavalier, but the Cavalry Pokémon did not move.

"Block it!" Tenten called out. Escavalier then used his left lance, blocking the boiling water, and then making it disperse.

"Oh no!" Cilan screamed.

"What a defense displayed by Escavalier!" Freddy boomed.

"Finish it up with Giga Impact!" Tenten commanded. Escavalier now was covered in a pink aura with yellow streams around it, as he charged for Stunfisk at full speed.

"Stunfisk, use Mud Bomb, quick!" Cilan called out. Stunfisk shot another ball of mud from his mouth, aimed for Escavalier, but did nothing as Escavalier charged right through it, splattering it to muddy bits as he struck the Trap Pokémon fiercely.

"STUUUNNNNN!" Stunfisk screamed as he was struck, and then sent flying into the wall, hitting it with a bang.

"Stunfisk!" Cilan cried out. The electric flounder's eyes were in complete swirls, as he was marked with mud all over him.

"Stunfisk is unable to battle, Escavalier wins, and therefore the victor is Tenten!" the referee announced. The crowd cheered and clapped as the giant screen showed Cilan's card gone, and Tenten's shown as the winner.

"Wi!" Burgundy screamed in joy, happy that Cilan had lost so early.

"No way…" Ash said in disbelief.

"I can't believe Cilan actually lost like that…" Iris sighed.

"Pika…" Pikachu moaned.

"Axew…" Axew said.

"Darn, and he doing so well too…" Gingka added. Tsubasa just watched as Cilan returned Stunfisk to his Poke Ball, looking sad for his friend that had inspired him in the first place. He then noticed Tenten walking up to the A-Class Connoisseur, with an annoyed look in her eyes.

"Look," she began to say, "Just because you're a Pokémon Connoisseur, doesn't mean you should be evaluating my Pokémon every second of the battle. Make sure not to be so annoying when we battle again," she said walking off, leaving Cilan in depression. Tsubasa was beyond furious now, he wanted to get revenge for those harsh words Tenten had said.

"All righty then folks!" Freddy began to say, "We'll be taking a break for a much needed lunch before the next battles get underway."

"For all those hard-working Pokémon, get them some good rest at the Icirrus City Pokémon Center!" Don George added. With that, the entire stadium cleared in a matter of minutes as both teams headed off to get some much-needed relaxation in the Pokémon Center. But as they all left, one factor had left the group, being that Cilan was silent the whole way there.

X

"Your Stunfisk has fully recovered!" a smiling Nurse Joy said happily to Cilan as she handed him Stunfisk's Poke Ball.

"Thank you Nurse Joy," Cilan said, walking off to the cafeteria. The young nurse noticed that the connoisseur was looking rather glum as left the reception area. At the cafeteria, Cilan gathered his food from the buffet table, picking out the foods that would be best for him to eat, and then sat down at an open table with no one else around. Near him, Burgundy, Georgia, and Bianca were also enjoying lunch when they noticed the rather upset Cilan.

"Dear me," Burgundy said, "I know Cilan loses some battles, but I never expected him to get this upset over this one…"

"Well, that Tenten girl really put him in a tight spot," Georgia said, "I just hope that this won't this bring our team down for the second half of the battles today," she added, crossing her arms. Bianca had just finished chewing some of her food as she listened in on her rivals' conversation.

"Maybe we should think about what our opponents' Pokémon might be…" Burgundy noted.

"Good idea," Georgia said, "There's no telling what types of tricks they'll pull in the next half."

"Don't worry!" Bianca said, flapping her hand, "We've already got three of our team members heading into the second round, and I'll be joining them too!" she said confidently with a wink. Meanwhile, Naruto, Hinata, Ben, and Rex were all talking together as well, trying to predict what Pokémon their opponents might use.

"Let's see…" Ben began to explain, "Kakashi had Watchog, Kiba had Stoutland, Lee had Throh, and Tenten had Escavalier…"

"Th-Those Pokémon match up perfectly with their personalities," Hinata said, next to Ben. She had been too nervous to sit next to Naruto, where Rex was now.

"So maybe we can deduct that someone like Shino uses a Bug type…" Naruto said.

"Or that Gaara uses a Ground type…" Rex added.

"We'll have to wait and see during the second half of today's matches," Ben said, taking a sip of his juice that he got. Across from their table, Ash, Iris, Gingka, Masamune, Stephan, and Tsubasa were all looking at Cilan, whom looked very saddened.

"I know it's weird to hear me say this, but I miss the old, cheerful Cilan," Iris sighed.

"Axew…" Axew moaned.

"It seemed like nothing was going to go wrong for him, and then…" Ash said, stopping his sentence right there. Gingka and Tsubasa said nothing, for they also couldn't believe that not only Cilan had lost, he became more depressed than they had ever seen him.

"So Gingka," Masamune said in between bites of his food, "Why'd you leave Mistralton City in the first place?" he asked. Everyone minus Masamune sighed at his cluelessness. "What?" he asked.

"I left because I felt that I wasn't strong enough to take on the gym leader yet!" Gingka shouted, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks, which no one noticed. Suddenly, Stephan slammed his palm on the table.

"You know what?" he asked, "I'm gonna win the next battle for Cilan's sake!" he said pumping his fist. Ash and the others smiled as Stephan stood proudly, ready to take the challenge of fighting the Shinobi 16.

"_All trainers participating in the Club Battle Ninja Tournament should report back to the stadium immediately,_" an announcement echoed over the loudspeaker. Ash then grabbed his cap, putting it on carefully.

"All right, good luck Stephen!" Ash encouraged.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said as well.

"Thanks, but the name's still Stephan…" Stephan sighed.

X

Back at the stadium, the crowd was present and cheering loudly as the battles were about to restart. Everyone took their places on their respective teams on each side of the field, waiting for the screen to reveal the next match up. However, Ash noticed that Cilan hadn't come along with them.

"Iris, where'd Cilan go?" he asked.

"I dunno…" she admitted, "I sure hope he's okay…"

"All righty folks!" Freddy shouted over the microphone, "The second half of today's battles begins, now!" he exclaimed as the board began shuffling cards once again. As the two cards selected went up to the center of the screen, Stephan watched carefully, hoping his card was selected.

"Our fifth match up today is…" Don George began to announce as the cards flipped over, revealing the trainers, "Sai versus Steven!" The entire crowd cheered.

"Yeah!" Stephan exclaimed, "Though they did get my name wrong… But who cares? I'm up first!" he said in excitement, running onto the field. His opponent, Sai, had pale white skin, along with black clothing and sandals. He looked like a serious man as he stepped onto his position.

"What Pokémon would Sai use?" Ben asked.

"Well, he is an art fanatic," Naruto explained, "Maybe he'll use an artsy Pokémon…"

"And what might that be?" Rex asked, making Naruto sweat drop and sigh.

The field changed once again as it had remained the marsh field since the last battle. The terrain of the new field was the same as at the beginning, a regular dirt field with a Poke Ball symbol in the middle.

"The dirt field, an old favorite of ours!" Freddy said.

"Since there are no obstacles on this field, the Pokémon have many freedoms when they make their moves," Don George added.

"All right then, introducing our trainers," Freddy said, "There's the master of artistry and cunning tactics, Sai! Along with his opponent, the muscles of power, Steven!"

"Can't anyone get my name right?!" Stephan questioned as he took out his Poke Ball, "All right Sai, let's do this!" he shouted to his opponent as he held his Poke Ball.

"I look forward to seeing what you can do with your strength and abilities," Sai said calmly, taking out his Poke Ball as well.

"Are both trainers ready?" the referee asked.

"Yes!" they both said.

"Then, let the battle begin!" the referee announced, swinging his arm down.

"Sawk, you're on!" Stephan exclaimed throwing his ball. The ball popped open, and the light from it formed into the Karate Pokémon, Sawk.

"Sawk!" he said, getting up from his kneeling position.

"Cool!" Ash exclaimed, "Stephen's gonna use Sawk!"

"Pika!" Pikachu said in awe. Sai however, was unfazed by Stephan's decision.

"Now here is my Pokémon…" he said, tossing his ball in the air. The ball opened to reveal the light from it, which then formed into Sai's own Sawk. The whole crowd gasped, including the Galaxy Trainers minus Ryuga.

"W-Well what do you know?!" Freddy exclaimed in surprise, "It's Sawk versus Sawk!"

"Looks like an interesting match up to lead up to some head-to-head combat…" Brycen mentioned.

"Y-You have a Sawk too?" Stephan asked, shocked.

"S-Sawk?" Sawk stuttered.

"Don't be so surprised!" Sai said happily, "Trainers may raise the same type of Pokémon as you, so it's not unusual for me to be using a Sawk as well…"

"Well, I guess so…" Stephan said, and then shook his head as he got back into focus, "All right Sawk, Bulk Up!" he called out.

"Sawk!" the Karate Pokémon yelled as he flexed his muscles, expanding them.

"Wow, how big!" Bianca said, eyeing Sawk's muscles.

"Sawk, Calm Mind," Sai said. Sai's Sawk then closed his eyes as he sat in a meditating position, clearing his mind, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

"Now Sawk, Low Sweep!" Stephan ordered. Sawk then somersaulted as he slid towards Sai's Sawk with his right foot ready to strike, whom was still meditating calmly.

"Sawk, dodge it," Sai called out softly. Suddenly, Sai's Sawk vanished from his position once he opened his eyes, leaving Stephan's Sawk in a moment of panic to search for him.

"What incredible speed!" Freddy exclaimed, "Sawk just vanished into thin air!"

"Where did that Sawk go?!" Stephan asked frantically, for he didn't know what Sai's Sawk was capable of other than Calm Mind.

"Calm Mind," Sai said. Stephan's Sawk then turned to see Sai's meditating yet again, and his eyes closed.

"Sawk, Karate Chop!" Stephan shouted as his Sawk jumped, with his hand glowing white, swinging it towards the meditating Sawk.

"Dodge it," Sai said calmly. Sai's Sawk once again, vanished in the blink of eye, leaving Stephan's to strike nothing more than the ground itself.

"How is that Sawk so fast?!" Stephan asked in worry.

"Though he may not be attacking, Sai's Sawk proves he can be as speedy and swift as he is!" Don George exclaimed.

"Calm Mind," Sai said. Stephan's Sawk turned back from the crater he left from his Karate Chop, to Sai's side of the field where Sawk was continuing to meditate. Stephan's Sawk was breathing heavily even though the battle had only just begun, he wasted some of his effort on those first two attacks.

"Okay, let's see if you can dodge this!" Stephan said, pumping his fist, "Sawk, Close Combat!" Sawk's eyes widened upon the command as he dashed towards Sai's, ready to strike with his fists.

"Sawk, Grass Knot," Sai said.

"Huh?" Stephan asked, surprised they weren't using Calm Mind. The meditating Sawk's eyes opened, and turned a bright green as vines suddenly burst out of the ground, wrapping around Stephan's Sawk, trapping him before he could attack.

"Sawk no!" Stephan cried out.

"Sawk…" he said, cringing as he struggled to break free.

"What an interesting strategy…" Brycen noted.

"Usually when it comes to offense, Sawk fights hand-to-hand with his opponents," Don George added.

"But Sai's proves that not all Sawks are used that way!" Freddy exclaimed in excitement.

"Use Bulk Up to break the vines!" Stephan called out. Sawk's muscles expanded once again, but they didn't even make the vines budge, as they had too tight a grip on him.

"How's that Grass Knot able to hold Sawk like that?!" Naruto asked.

"Calm Mind raises a Pokémon's special attack, and special defense," Tsubasa noted, "Normally that's not how a Pokémon like Sawk would battle, but it looks like Sai's figured out a way to make that work!" he added. Stephan's Sawk continued to struggle as he kept pulling tightly on the vines.

"Stone Edge!" Sai ordered. His Sawk then flashed a bright white before several pointed stones were orbiting his body, and were then launched directly at Stephan's struggling Sawk, who couldn't avoid the attack, and was immediately stricken by the stones over and over, however they also ripped off the vines holding him.

"Sawk, are you all right?!" Stephan asked as his Karate Pokémon got up slowly from the Stone Edge.

"Focus Blast!" Sai commanded. Suddenly, as the smoke was still clearing, a large, bright blue ball of energy was shot directly at Stephan's Sawk, hitting him right in the chest, and making him fly into the wall, leaving a large crater.

"Sawk, no!" Stephan cried out as black belt warrior fell to the ground, his head dizzied by Sai's Sawk.

"Steven's Sawk is unable to battle, Sai's Sawk wins, and that means the winner is Sai!" the referee announced. Stephan looked down at his Sawk, his face in disbelief about his loss. The board was showing Sai's card depicted as the winner, while Stephan's had been completely erased.

"What an incredible match!" Freddy exclaimed, "Sai's Sawk completely dominated the battle!"

"Yes indeed!" Don George added, "That was a truly riveting battle!"

"No way…" Gingka said.

"I can't believe Stephen lost too…" Ash said in sympathy.

"Pikachu…" Pikachu moaned.

"Sawk, return…" Stephan said, recalling his Pokémon. He stood to see Sai recalling his Sawk as well.

"That was a very good battle," he said with a smile, "I hope to have a match with you again someday!" He then walked off to his side of the field. Stephan just sighed as he walked off, passing his friends, and walking out of the stadium through the entrance.

"Stephen…" Ash said, about to get his attention, but the trainer had already left, without a retort to Ash getting his name wrong again.

"Looks like we're on to the next battle!" Freddy announced as the screen shuffled the remaining cards. The two cards that made it to the center flipped over as the trainers watched to see the match up.

"Shikamaru versus Bianca!" Don George exclaimed. Bianca looked across from her side of the field to see Shikamaru, wearing a green vest, along with having a spiky ponytail. Though she would have been more excited to be battling, she looked a lot more serious than she normally was.

"I won't lose!" she said as she rushed onto the field carefully. The field then changed once again into a rocky land based field, only this one had the rocks carved out as pillars sticking up high into the sky. "Oh my!" Bianca exclaimed as she saw the field. The pillars prevented from her from looking at her opponent, who was rather sulking.

"Man what a drag…" Shikamaru sighed, "I get called up now and we're on a winning streak… This is gonna end badly…" he sighed.

"So folks, introducing our two trainers," Freddy began to say, "Shikamaru the 200 IQ genius, and his opponent, the sweet princess of Pokémon battles, Bianca!"

"Though sweet would only be an exaggeration, as she looks very serious," Brycen noted. Bianca and Shikamaru took out their respective Poke Balls.

"Are both of you ready?" the referee asked.

"Yes!" they said in unison.

"Let the battle begin then!" the referee shouted as he swung down his arm.

"Emboar!" Bianca exclaimed as she swung her arm like a windmill, "You're up!" she shouted as she threw the ball into the air, with it popping open to reveal the light that formed into the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon, Emboar. Gingka took out his Pokedex on account of seeing the Pokémon for the first time.

"_Emboar: The Mega Fire Pig Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pignite. A flaring beard of fire is proof that Emboar is fired up. Emboar is adept at using many different moves,_" the Pokedex stated.

"Here we go, Liepard…" Shikamaru sighed as he tossed his ball. It opened, and the light from it formed into the Cruel Pokémon, Liepard. Once again, Gingka scanned the released Pokémon as he had been revealed.

"_Liepard: The Cruel Pokémon, and the evolved form of Purrloin. Their beautiful form comes from the muscles they have developed. They run silently in the night,_" the Pokedex stated.

"Liepard is a Dark type, and Emboar is a Fire & Fighting type," Tsubasa noted, "So Bianca has the advantage!" Yet despite type advantage, this was going to be no walk in the park for Bianca and Emboar at all.

"Emboar, Flamethrower!" she ordered. Emboar's snout then released a huge spray of flames directly at Liepard.

"Man, what a pain…" Shikamaru sighed as the flames got closer to Liepard. "Okay, dodge it and use Aerial Ace," he said. The dark purple leopard obeyed him completely as he jumped quickly away from the raging flames and onto a rocky pillar. He then sped up as he jumped from the pillar, striking Emboar in the face, making him step back.

A powerful attack!" Freddy echoed over the speakers.

"Emboar!" Bianca cried out as her Pokémon stumbled backwards. Emboar then got back up, still raring to go. "Okay, use Arm Thrust then!" Bianca commanded. Emboar then began to thrust his palms aimed for Liepard.

"Grass Knot!" Shikamaru yelled. Suddenly, Liepard's eyes glowed a bright green as vines came out of the ground, wrapping themselves around Emboar. The Mega Fire Pig Pokémon struggled to break free as he began to fall to his knees from exhausting his strength.

"Oh no…" Bianca said in worry.

"Come on Bianca!" Masamune shouted.

"Let's go Emboar!" Iris cheered.

"Axew Axew!" Axew also cheered. Suddenly, Bianca came to a realization.

"That's it!" she exclaimed with a snap, "Emboar, burn the vines off with Flamethrower!" she called out. Shikamaru then grinned, which Tsubasa took notice of. '_What's he up to…?_' he asked himself.

"Sucker Punch!" Shikamaru ordered. Liepard then immediately dashed in front of Emboar, hitting him with his crescent-like tail, stopping the fire pig from unleashing his flames.

"Oh no!" Bianca cried out as Emboar cringed in pain.

"Tsubasa, what was that?!" Masamune asked.

"Sucker Punch is a move that always lands first, before the opponent has a chance to make a move, no matter what it is," Tsubasa explained, "Also, Shikamaru's taken advantage of Emboar's weight with Grass Knot…"

"What does that mean?" Gingka asked.

"It means that Grass Knot works better on Pokémon that are extremely heavy, such as Emboar…" Tsubasa explained.

"Come on Emboar, knock Liepard back with Hammer Arm!" Bianca called out. The fire pig was not down for the count, as his arms glowed a bright white, he broke the vines, striking Liepard, and then sending him into a nearby pillar.

"Looks like Emboar's fighting back fiercely!" O'Martin boomed.

"With Fighting type moves being super-effective against Dark types, it's easy to see that Liepard won't take that lightly!" Don George added. The Cruel Pokémon glared back at Emboar as he was in pain from his Hammer Arm.

"Use Hammer Arm once more!" Bianca ordered.

"Shadow Claw!" Shikamaru commanded. Emboar's arm turned a bright white again as he rushed towards Liepard, while the purple cat with the yellow underside and marks, had a dark aura surround his right paw, resembling a claw. He then jumped after Emboar as well.

"Li…"

"Em…"

"PAAAAARRRDD!"

"BOOOOAAAAARRR!" they screamed as they used their moves on each other. They stood back to back, waiting for their opponent to fall. The crowd watched as the two Pokémon continued to stand. Then, without warning, Emboar fell down, with swirls in his eyes.

"Emboar!" Bianca cried out as she ran onto the field to check her Pokémon.

"Emboar is unable to battle, Liepard wins, and that gives Shikamaru the victory!" the referee announced. The screen showed Bianca's card being erased completely, as Shikamaru's stood proudly in the center, with the title "WINNER" beneath it.

"Oh well..." Shikamaru sighed, "At least I won't have to battle for a little while." He then turned towards the field where he saw Bianca return Emboar and walk off in a great depression. '_Great, and now I made a pretty girl upset too… What a drag…_' he thought to himself as he returned Liepard. Bianca had then left the stadium as well to get Emboar fixed up at the Pokémon Center, but her joyful smile had vanished.

"We're tied up with the Shinobi 16 now!" Ash exclaimed.

"We have to get those victories back!" Masamune said as well.

"Look!" Gingka said as he pointed to the big screen. The cards were shuffling once again, revealing the seventh match up. The two cards that made it to the front of the screen go everyone anticipating who would be facing who. The cards flipped, and they revealed yet another surprising match up.

"It's Shino versus Burgundy!" Freddy announced.

"I'm looking forward to see what this battle brings to the table!" Don George added, "This match will also determine if the Shinobi 16 can hold onto to their surprising winning streak, or if the Galaxy Trainers can come back to win the battles!" he said excitedly. The field then changed back to the regular, rocky land field from Trip's match against Kiba.

"Time for a battle that'll leave anyone saying, 'Bon appétit!'" Burgundy exclaimed with a snap as she ran excitedly to the battlefield. Her opponent, Shino, was wearing glasses, along with most of his face covered by clothing and hood. They both took their positions on the field.

"Introducing, the man who surrounds himself with bugs, Shino!" Freddy introduced.

"Along with his opponent, the evaluation time princess, Burgundy!" Don George also introduced.

"Ready, set, begin!" the referee announced, swinging his arm.

"Now, time for a familiar taste!" Burgundy shouted as she held her Poke Ball, "Dewott venez nous voir!" she said as she threw the ball. It opened, and the light from it formed into the Discipline Pokémon, Dewott.

"Du!" she exclaimed as she landed on the earth beneath her. Shino brought out a Poke Ball as well.

"Go Crustle!" he exclaimed, throwing the ball. The light coming from it, formed into the Stone Home Pokémon, Crustle.

"Crus!" he exclaimed as he eyed his opponent. Burgundy then grinned as she saw her opponent's Pokémon.

"Alors, it is evaluating time s'il vous plaît!" Burgundy exclaimed with a wink, by which Shino was unfazed.

"Oh boy, this oughta be good…" Tsubasa sighed, face palming.

"Now I see that you and your Crustle share great similarities, the way you seem to seclude your identity, like the way a Crustle hides in its shell," Burgundy said, "Your compatibility is definitely absolute, but I don't believe your that open to other people most of the time, the same way your Crustle doesn't interact with other Pokémon," she explained.

"Now why on Earth would he believe something as trivial as that?" Tsubasa asked.

"You're correct," Shino replied to Burgundy, making Tsubasa fall over, "I may keep myself secluded from others, though I do wish to interact with my friends, even though they may not want me around…" Those words began to send Naruto and Hinata on a guilt trip for not hanging out with Shino so much.

"Well Shino is the strong yet silent type," Ben noted, "Who'd know this is how he felt?"

"However, that evaluation of me won't determine this battle," Shino said, "Our strengths will determine who is better! Crustle, Rock Polish!"

"Crustle!" the hermit crab Pokémon replied as the large chunk of stone on his back glowed a bright orange.

"Rock Polish is a move that increases a Pokémon's speed," Rex explained, "So, what's Shino gonna do now?"

"Dewott, Water Pulse!" Burgundy ordered. The otter then created a ball of water in front of her mouth, launching it at Crustle. Unfortunately, Shino had plans.

"Crustle, Bulldoze!" he commanded. Crustle then slammed his large pincers into the earth, charging forward as he tore up the ground.

"Look at that momentum!" Freddy exclaimed.

"That's because Shino was smart enough to have Crustle use Rock Polish beforehand, so that way, he could attack more fiercely…" Brycen noted. The Water Pulse merely was dispersed as Crustle kept charging on through it. Burgundy cringed as she tried to think of something.

"Dewott, Ice Beam!" Burgundy commanded. The Discipline Pokémon then created another bright blue ball in front of her mouth, only this time, the ball shot out zigzag lines that were about to intercept Crustle's Bulldoze. Sadly, the Ice Beam did little more than freeze parts of Crustle's shell as he struck Dewott fiercely, sending her flying back to Burgundy. "Dewott, are you all right?!" she asked frantically.

"Du Du Wott!" she replied, feeling just fine even after taking a brutal attack.

"All right then, use Razor Shell!" Burgundy commanded. Dewott took off the scalchops on both sides of her body as they glowed bright blue and the light expanded into blades as she ran towards Crustle.

"Block it!" Shino called out. Before Dewott could even strike, Crustle's pincers had grabbed each of her arms, stopping her in place.

"Du…" she growled at the Stone Home Pokémon.

"Now Crustle, Bug Bite!" Shino ordered. Crustle then opened his mouth to reveal glowing white teeth as he bit into Dewott's left shoulder.

"WOOOOTTTTTTT!" she cried in agonizing pain.

"Dewott, break away with Revenge!" Burgundy called out. Dewott then began to glow in a red aura as a sudden shockwave came from her body, knocking Crustle back.

"Du… Du…" she breathed as she had been exhausted.

"Looks like Dewott's been exhausted already!" O'Martin shouted.

"Come on Dewott, we're not finished! Jusqu'à!" Burgundy cried out.

"Du!" she replied, getting back up.

"Crustle, Rock Blast!" Shino ordered. Crustle's pincers turned a whitish grey as he launched missiles that looked like his pincers towards Dewott.

"Block them with Razor Shell!" Burgundy called out. Dewott took out her glowing blades and struck the missiles before they could hit her. However, Tsubasa noticed something else going on as Dewott was hitting back the attack.

"Shino's having Crustle use Rock Blast to try and tire out Dewott!" he realized. He then noticed that Dewott had become beyond exhausted as she began to tire herself out from using Razor Shell so much. Suddenly, Crustle stopped the Rock Blast.

"I guess we should end this before your Dewott becomes too exhausted," Shino said pushing up his glasses, "Crustle, Bulldoze!" he ordered. Crustle once again tore up the earth beneath as he charged towards Dewott again, who was now ready to give in.

"Stay strong Dewott!" Burgundy encouraged, "Razor Shell!" The Discipline Pokémon obeyed her command clearly as she charged towards Crustle with the scalchops in hand, ready to strike. Ash and his friends gasped as the two moves collided, resulting in a brief explosion which knocked Crustle back a few yards, and sent Dewott flying into the stadium wall. She slid down it, with her eyes swirled up.

"Dewott!" Burgundy cried out.

"Dewott is unable to battle, Crustle wins, and the victory goes to Shino!" the referee announced as the crowd cheered loudly. Burgundy watched in sadness as her card was erased from the board, and Shino's was now seen as the winner.

"Dewott, return…" she sighed, recalling her Pokémon. Shino watched as she walked off the field, looking as depressed as Cilan. She walked back to her team's area to see that they had sympathetic looks on their faces. She turned away and sighed. "Whatever they're capable of, it's beyond my level…" she said as she walked out of the stadium.

"Well what do you know?" Freddy began to announce, "It looks like the

Shinobi 16 have taken the lead in wins!"

"Now to see if they'll have the most wins of the day with our final match up!" Don George. Everyone began to chatter around as they were wondering what the last match up of the day would be.

"We still have 9 trainers, that include us, that haven't battled yet!" Rex whispered to Naruto and Ben.

"Well if I get picked, I won't hold anything back, even if they are my friends!" Ben said. Hinata watched as they all talked with each other about strategies for battling. She was wondering who'd she have to fight if she was picked. '_If I end up battling, I'll be out of my league against Neji, or Gaara, or even-_' she stopped her thought as she saw the screen shuffle the cards again. Everyone watched in anticipation as two cards made their way to the center of the screen.

"So folks, let's see what our last match up of the day is!" Freddy shouted as the cards flipped over to reveal the trainers. Hinata gasped upon seeing her card on the screen, next to Sakura's.

"The eighth match is Sakura versus Hinata!" Don George announced.

"How interesting," Brycen said, "I'm looking forward to this match up."

"All right," Sakura said, tightening her gloves, "Looks like it's go time!"

Everyone on the Galaxy Trainers, minus Ryuga and Trip were shocked by the match up.

"Yep, we're doomed," Rex said bluntly. He then felt a hand whack him on the head. "OW!" he screamed, turning to see that Ben had hit him. "What did you do that for?!" he asked angrily.

"Why don't you have any faith in Hinata?!" Ben asked back with anger present in his eyes.

"Two words," Rex said pointing to Hinata, "Too nervous." Hinata's legs quivered at the thought of facing Sakura in a Pokémon battle. Not to mention, Naruto also loved Sakura, so that made her even more scared to even beat her.

"All right Hinata, good luck!" Gingka encouraged as the battlefield changed back to the rock pillar field.

"Do your best!" Iris cheered.

"Axew!" Axew cheered too.

"Go Hinata!" Ash yelled as she walked to her position, feeling flustered and nervous.

"Introducing our two trainers, the lovely yet ferocious fighter, Sakura!" Freddy introduced as the pink-haired girl took her position.

"Along with her opponent, the sweet Pokémon trainer with a big heart, Hinata!" Don George introduced as the shy girl took her position as well.

"So, are both of you ready?" the referee asked.

"Yes!" Sakura said.

"U-Um… Yeah…" Hinata stuttered.

"Then let the battle begin!" the referee announced, swinging down his arm. Sakura took out her Poke Ball.

"All right, let's go Gothitelle!" she exclaimed as she launched the ball in the air. It opened to reveal the light that formed into the Astral Body Pokémon, Gothitelle.

"Gothi," she said as she landed gently on the ground. Ben took out his Pokedex as he noticed the strange Psychic type.

"_Gothitelle: The Astral Body Pokémon, and the evolved form of Gothorita. Gothitelle can see the future from the movement of the stars. When Gothitelle learns his or her Trainer's life span, he or she cries in sadness,_" the Pokedex stated.

"That's not really a Pokémon that reminds you too much of Sakura, huh Naruto?" Ben asked as he put the device away. The ninja boy just watched as he saw Hinata take out a Poke Ball.

"L-Leavanny, go!" she stuttered as she tossed the ball. It popped open, and the light from it formed into the Nurturing Pokémon, Leavanny.

"Lea Leavanny!" she cried out happily as she eyed her opponent.

"So, it's Gothitelle versus Leavanny!" Freddy announced excitedly.

"Hinata has the advantage with Leavanny being a Bug & Grass type over Gothitelle, who's a Psychic type," Don George noted.

"Nevertheless, I expect a great battle from these two," Brycen added.

"Hinata!" Sakura called out to her opponent, "Let's both do our best!" The timid girl's lips just quivered as she was too nervous to even face anyone now.

"Here we go Hinata!" Rex cheered.

"Let's go Leavanny!" Ben shouted, "So Naruto, you're cheering for Hinata, right?" he asked the ninja. Naruto was only looking at the field sternly, his arms crossed, his eyes squinting. "Please don't tell me you're gonna root for Sakura, are you?" Ben asked with a sigh.

"No, but I would cheer if Sakura or Hinata were facing someone else," Naruto admitted. Ben face palmed at Naruto oblivious nature. '_Great… Let's hope Hinata can pull herself through this battle…_' he thought to himself as the battle was about to actually begin.

"Gothitelle, Psyshock!" Sakura ordered. The Psychic type understood the order clearly as she floated into the air, creating bluish-purple, jelly-like balls of psychic energy in front of her. She then shot them on their path headed for Leavanny.

"Lea!" the Nurturing Pokémon said bravely as she stood, waiting for a command. But the command hadn't come yet. Leavanny turned around for a split second to see Hinata with her eyes closed, looking scared and nervous at the same time, before the Psyshock struck her.

"Oh my!" Freddy exclaimed as Leavanny fell down, "Leavanny could've easily dodged that attack, but Hinata didn't give her a command!"

"What's wrong with Hinata?" Ash asked as he saw Leavanny stand back up.

"Now, use Thunderbolt!" Sakura commanded. Electricity began to flow over Gothitelle's body as she launched a bolt of it straight at Leavanny. Leavanny was ready to counterattack, but apparently, her trainer was not as she heard no command before she was hit with the jolt of lightning.

"LEEEEEAAAA!" she cried out as she tried to endure the Thunderbolt.

"Another opportunity lost due to Hinata's late reactions!" Freddy exclaimed as Leavanny broke free from the attack, jumping back to her side of the field.

"Come on Hinata!" Gingka shouted.

"Win this battle!" Masamune yelled.

"Lea Lea Leavanny?!" she shouted back at Hinata. Her trainer just stood there with a look of guilt upon her face, her eyes still shut.

"Gothitelle, Shadow Ball!" Sakura ordered. Gothitelle then created a dark purple ball of energy in front of herself, which she then launched at Leavanny. Upon not hearing a command given this time, Leavanny decided to forget it, and jumped out of the Shadow Ball's path.

"Looks like Leavanny decided to fend for herself!" Don George noted. Just then, Leavanny right arm began to glow a bright green as she swung it down at Gothitelle.

"That's Leaf Blade!" Ash exclaimed as Leavanny was about to strike.

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered. Sakura grinned on account of this, however.

"Dodge it and use Telekinesis!" Sakura called out. Gothitelle then floated away from her position as Leavanny struck nothing but the ground, creating a small crater along with dust. The Astral Body Pokémon's eyes then glowed a bright green as the dust cleared to reveal Leavanny surrounded by a green outline. Hinata gasped as she saw Leavanny begin to float in the air, flailing around in confusion.

"Oh my, Leavanny's floating!" Freddy boomed into his microphone.

"Telekinesis causes a Pokémon to float in the air for quite a while without any mobility," Don George added.

"Wait, does that mean Leavanny can't move?!" Rex asked in worry. Ben nodded with a grimace upon his face. He knew Hinata was now in trouble.

"Now Psyshock!" Sakura ordered. Gothitelle then launched another array of jelly-like balls of energy at Leavanny, only this time, even with her trainer's orders, Leavanny could not avoid the attack as she was pummeled back by it into a nearby pillar.

"Shadow Ball!" Sakura commanded. Another dark purple ball of energy was formed in front of the Psychic type's body as she shot it at Leavanny, which then hit her in the face. A rock pillar tumbled down as Leavanny's body had been sent right through it.

"Thunderbolt!" Sakura ordered. Once again, electricity began to build up all over Gothitelle's body as she launched another jolt of lightning directly for the mantis-like Pokémon. Hinata watched helplessly as the Nurturing Pokémon was struck fiercely by the Thunderbolt. She wanted to give a command, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She felt helpless as she saw Leavanny covered in scars and bruises from the battle, but she still wanted to go on. Hinata then noticed that electricity began to spark all over Leavanny's body.

"Uh oh!" Freddy shouted, "It looks like Leavanny just got paralyzed by Gothitelle's Thunderbolt!" Hinata cringed seeing her Pokémon battered like this, wanting to end the battle now so that she wouldn't have to suffer any more agonizing attacks. '_I can't do this… I'm not cut out to even be a Pokémon Trainer… I'm a failure…_' she thought hopelessly as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Hinata…" Ash and Gingka said, watching their friend about to burst into tears.

"HEY, HINATA!" a voice suddenly screamed. Hinata was just about to cry when she heard that voice call out to her. She turned to see Naruto gripping the railing of the wall, rage present in his eyes. "Come one Hinata, don't give up now!" he encouraged loudly, "Leavanny's putting in all her effort for your sake, so you should do the same for her!" he screamed. Everyone minus Ryuga was shocked at Naruto's outburst, especially Hinata. '_Naruto…_' she thought as she looked down. She realized that he was right, she needed to help Leavanny as much as she wanted to help herself become a better trainer.

"Leavanny, are you all right?" she called out. The Nurturing Pokémon was in excruciating pain, but stayed upright in the air, as she was glad to finally hear her trainer's voice. '_It's good that Leavanny can still battle, but with Telekinesis and being paralyzed, how can she move in order to attack?_' she asked herself. She then noticed the tall rock pillars standing before her. She then had an idea. "Leavanny, use String Shot to swing yourself around the pillars!" she called out.

"Lea!" the Nurturing Pokémon replied, understanding the command as she shot a line of silk that wrapped around a nearby pillar. She then glided past Gothitelle as she went around the pillar.

"Now, use String Shot on the next one!" Hinata called out as Leavanny shot another thread of silk at another pillar. She then continued this pattern as everyone watched in wonder.

"What's Lady Hinata up to?" Neji asked with his arms crossed.

"Don't know, but I bet she's not gonna quit now thanks to Naruto," Kiba said, making Neji wonder at the thought as of why Hinata was so inspired by Naruto.

"Check out Leavanny!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" Pikachu said.

"She's moving faster now!" Iris added.

"Axew!" Axew said too.

"What a surprising taste!" a voice said, getting everyone's attention. They all turned to see Burgundy standing with them, looking surprised to see this match taking an unexpected turn.

"Burgundy, you're back!" Tsubasa exclaimed. The connoisseuse disregarded his excitement as her eyes were glued to the battlefield.

"Now, use Leaf Blade!" Hinata ordered. Leavanny then swung around a corner, with sharp arm covered in a bright green light as she struck Gothitelle right in the chest, sending her flying back to Sakura.

"A direct hit!" O'Martin boomed.

"Atta girl, Hinata!" Ben cheered.

"Go Leavanny!" Rex cheered too.

"Go Hinata, go!" a voice said in between them. They both turned and were surprised to see Bianca standing right there.

"B-Bianca?!" Ben asked in surprise.

"When did you get here?" Rex asked.

"Uh…" Bianca began to say, putting a finger to her head, "Just now?" she said, making both of them sweat drop. Meanwhile, Leavanny was making great use of Hinata's strategy, gaining momentum, and then striking Gothitelle right where it hurt.

"Now, use X-Scissor!" Hinata commanded. As Leavanny swung around a corner once again, she this time had both of her arms glowing light blue as she crossed them into an x, heading for the now tired Gothitelle. Leavanny then struck the Astral Body Pokémon with all her might.

"TELLLLLEEEEEE!" she screamed in pain as she was knocked down onto the ground. Leavanny then jumped down, touching the ground with her legs.

Hinata beamed in surprise, "The Telekinesis wore off!" she exclaimed happily.

"Way to go Hinata!" a voice from the Galaxy Trainers' side shouted. Ash turned to see Stephan standing right there, watching the battle with his eyes focused on Leavanny and Gothitelle clashing.

"Stephen, you came back too!" Ash said happily.

"You know I wouldn't miss out on a battle that's this intense Ash!" he replied, disregarding the mispronunciation of his name. Sakura was especially pleased with Hinata finally getting serious.

"All right, Gothitelle Thunderbolt!" she ordered. Gothitelle launched out bolt of electricity, headed for Leavanny.

"Counter it with Energy Ball!" Hinata called out. Leavanny then created bright green ball of energy in front of her mouth, which she launched in the opposite direction of Gothitelle's Thunderbolt. The two moves collided, but unexpectedly, the Thunderbolt made the Energy Ball explode, going through the smoke from the small implosion, striking Leavanny.

"LEEEEEAAAAA!" she cried out in pain.

"Leavanny, no!" Hinata cried as the Nurturing Pokémon fell to her knees.

"Lea…" she breathed out, exhausted. Electricity continued to spark all over her body as she struggled to get back up.

"Sorry Hinata," Sakura began to say, "but I'm winning this battle!" she exclaimed, "Gothitelle, Thunderbolt!" she ordered. Electricity flowed through Gothitelle's body once more as she was about to unleash another Thunderbolt.

"Leavanny, hang in there!" Hinata called out, "Energy Ball again!" As Leavanny got up, the antennae on her head began to sparkle. "Huh?" Hinata asked as she noticed this.

"Hey, that's-!"

"Solarbeam!" a voice exclaimed, cutting Ash off. He turned to see a very nice sight, as Cilan had come back into the stadium.

"Cilan!" Gingka and Ash exclaimed.

"You're back!" Tsubasa and Iris noted.

"Axew!" Axew cheered.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said happily. As Gothitelle launched her Thunderbolt, the bright, shining sun began to make Leavanny's antennae sparkle even more, until it became a bright sparkling sphere, which she then grabbed with her sharp arms. Hinata then knew what Leavanny was doing, and knew what to do next.

"Leavanny, Solarbeam!" Hinata commanded. The Nurturing Pokémon then launched the attack as the sphere turned into a beam of light that intercepted the Thunderbolt before it struck, and then making it disperse as the Solarbeam slammed into Gothitelle, knocking her into the wall.

"Gothitelle!" Sakura cried out as the Astral Body Pokémon slid down the wall, hitting the ground with a thud with swirls in her eyes.

"Gothitelle is unable to battle, Leavanny wins, and therefore, the victor is Hinata!" the referee announced. The crowd cheered and clapped loudly, making the whole stadium shake.

"I… won?" Hinata asked herself.

"Lea!" Leavanny said, running back to her trainer despite the paralysis.

"Leavanny!" Hinata called out as she ran up to the Nurturing Pokémon, giving her a big hug. "Oh, thank you so much Leavanny…" she said with tears in her eyes.

"Lea Lea," she replied, patting Hinata on the back. Sakura watched them happily as she returned Gothitelle to her Poke Ball.

"Hey, Hinata!" she shouted as she walked over to her, "That was an amazing battle," she said holding out her hand for a handshake, "You were superb out there, so was Leavanny!" Hinata accepted her handshake heartily.

"Thanks Sakura," she replied, "I know I can do my best if I feel like I can try…" she said glancing over to Naruto, which Sakura noticed.

"Good luck in the second round Hinata!" Sakura said, running back to her side of the field.

"What an amazing finisher to today's match ups!" O'Martin exclaimed, "Now it looks like the Shinobi 16 are tied with the Galaxy Trainers in wins now!"

"Tomorrow we'll have the second half of first round!" Don George announced, "For those of you that haven't battled yet, I highly suggest you get some good rest for tomorrow!" With that said, the stadium once again had been completely cleared as people went back to their homes or hotels for the night before the second half of first round matches. Both of the groups were also walking back as well.

"Way to come through for our team Hinata!" Ash complimented.

"You were awesome out there!" Gingka said.

"Thank you," she said happily, smiling brightly with her friends all the way back to the Pokémon Center.

END

Chapter 2 complete! Phew! What a chapter that was. Anyways, might as well give you guys the gist about the next chapter.

**Summary: As Day 2 of the Club Battle Ninja Tournament begins after a long night of rest, Iris is pitted against Ino! Using Excadrill against Lilligant, Iris hopes to achieve victory with his strength. But what will happen when Lilligant hits the Subterranean Pokémon with Attract?! **

**As the battles move along, Masamune is finally placed up against Yamato before the lunch break! Using Timburr against Yamato's Seismitoad, Masamune aims to win no matter what! But as his Pokémon becomes battered by Seismitoad's attacks, Timburr then starts to glow…?!**


	3. The 2nd Day! Timburr VS Seismitoad!

NOTE: I do not tolerate any form of character bashing on my fanfic. Though there may not be any reviews yet, I would like for them to be clean and also give me good feedback for things I need to work on. Enjoy!

X

As the sun set upon Icirrus City, all the spectators and fans left to their homes or hotels, and the trainers headed back to the Pokémon Center. Everyone made their way inside, and began to scatter for the mess hall since it was almost dinnertime. However, Hinata stayed at the reception area as she handed Leavanny's Poké Ball to Nurse Joy. The bright smiling nurse nodded as she, along with her helpful assistant Audino, took Leavanny into the room to get fully healed from her excruciating battle. Hinata sighed as she looked back upon the battle, for she defeated Sakura in her first tournament battle.

'_Naruto encouraged me to keep going today…_'she thought, '_I was able to win because of his motivation, and Leavanny's…_' Suddenly, she noticed the sliding doors open as Ryuga was exiting the building. "Ryuga?" she asked. Ryuga then shot her a look, which made her turn away from the menacing trainer, who then left. She then turned back towards the reception desk to see Leavanny standing with Nurse Joy and Audino, looking happy and healthy as ever.

"Your Leavanny has fully recovered!" A bright, smiling Nurse Joy said to Hinata as the Nurturing Pokémon ran up to hug her trainer happily.

"Lea Lea!" she said, hugging her trainer tightly.

"Thank you Nurse Joy," Hinata said as she hugged Leavanny back.

"It's my pleasure!" Nurse Joy replied, "Have a good night sleep for tomorrow!" she said as she left her reception desk to pack up for the night. Hinata smiled as she and Leavanny then headed off to the mess hall for dinner. When she walked in, she noticed that every member of the current Galaxy Trainers, excluding Ryuga, were all sitting at a long table, a seat open at the end of the table for her.

"Surprise!" everyone screamed when Hinata waltzed in, shocking her into embarrassment.

"H-Hi everyone!" she replied, stuttering a little. She then noticed the table was riddled with food. From potato slices to sandwiches, there was a huge array of foods placed on the table, including a plate of cinnamon buns that caught her eye. "C-C-Cinnamon b-buns?" she asked in surprise.

"Correct!" Cilan replied. He still had his same old waiter-like clothes on, but he also wore an apron over his pants. "Naruto mentioned how much you like cinnamon buns, so I took the time to make them myself, along with other delicacies," he said as he pointed the vast amounts of food upon the table. Hinata blushed on the mention that Naruto had suggested Cilan make the cinnamon buns.

"So, what are we waiting for?!" Masamune asked, "Let's dig in!" he said as he was about to take a bite of meat. He then felt something hit him right on his head, making him agonize in pain. "OW!" he screamed as he turned to see that Ben had hit him. He then realized his mistake, putting the meat down. "Never mind…" he sighed.

"First, let's have a toast," Cilan said as he raised his glass, "To all the trainers of our team that competed today, whether you made it into the second round or not!" Everyone else raised his or her glass.

"Cheers!" they all said, hitting their glasses against each other. They then all sat down and began the glorious feast.

"I must say Hinata," Burgundy said before she took a bite of her salad, "your battle with Sakura was très magnifique!" she complimented.

"All of us really were inspired by your motivation and strength!" Bianca added, taking a bite of a sandwich.

"Totally!" Stephan said as he bit into a chunk of meat, "Leavanny's X-Scissor and Leaf Blade attacks were really cool!" Cilan nodded in agreement.

"I also admired your fighting spirit matching that of Leavanny's," Cilan said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Masamune asked in between bites of food.

"He means that Hinata and Leavanny were in sync with one another by the time that she was motivated to battle," Tsubasa explained, "Am I right Hinata?" he asked.

"Yes!" Hinata replied as she looked to see the Nurturing Pokémon eating Cilan's Pokémon food with Pikachu and Axew, along with Ash's mischievous Oshawott. The four were enjoying their meal as it was plentiful, however Oshawott pigged out too early, and ran out of food in his bowl before he was even considered full. He then glanced at Leavanny's bowl beside him, being barely touched as much of the food was still in there. Oshawott grinned as he snatched Leavanny's food bowl while she wasn't looking, and then consumed every single piece that was in it.

"Pika Pika?"

"Le Leavanny Lea!"

"Axew Axew!" the rest of the Pokémon said in their conversation as Oshawott put Leavanny's food bowl back, all empty. The Nurturing Pokémon then reached down into her bowl to grab a piece, when she suddenly felt nothing but a surface on the tip of her blade. She then looked down to see that her food was completely gone.

"Lea Lea?!" she asked loudly, which got the attention of the others at the table.

"Leavanny, what's the matter?" Hinata asked. Leavanny then showed her the empty bowl in front of her as she stood up.

"Did somebody take your food?" Iris asked.

"Pika Pi…" Pikachu said, knowing he hadn't done a thing.

"Axew Ax!" Axew said also. Suddenly, Leavanny heard a burp right beside her. She turned to see Oshawott lying on the ground, his belly full, looking satisfied. Leavanny became enraged on behalf of this, and began to unleash Leaf Blade on Oshawott, using both of her arms to try and catch the little mongrel.

"Ah, L-Leavanny, stop that!" Hinata stuttered.

"Man, can't Oshawott survive on his own food?" Ash asked, worried that the little otter was going to pay for what he did. However, Oshawott easily avoided Leavanny's Leaf Blade as she chased him around the table, until they got near Gingka. Without warning, a light then appeared from Gingka's pants, which then formed into Simipour, who struck Oshawott in the face with Brick Break, sending him crashing into the ground in a daze.

"Osha…" he said with his eyes in swirls. Leavanny was surprised that Simipour had appeared so suddenly, but was still happy nonetheless that Oshawott had been stopped. Simipour coming out of the Poké Ball by herself also intrigued Ash.

"Gingka," Ash began to ask, "Does Simipour pop out of her Poké Ball like Oshawott does?" he asked as he returned the Sea Otter Pokémon back to his Poké Ball.

"Yeah," Gingka said with a nod, "Simipour usually does that to try and play with me most of the time." Upon hearing that, Simipour jumped on Gingka's back, snuggling with the beyblader. "Hey!" Gingka giggled as Simipour rubbed her head against his cheek, "Cut it out! Ha ha!" Everyone except for Trip laughed as Simipour kept nuzzling her trainer.

"So Gingka," Iris began to ask, "where did you get Simipour?"

Gingka smiled as he remembered. "I found Simipour around the forests near Lacunosa Town," he replied.

"Lacunosa Town?" Ash asked.

"Yeah," Gingka said, "To be honest, I wasn't the first one to be going after Simipour," he said with a chuckle.

"Wait, what?" Iris asked, "Who was going to catch Simipour before you did?" Georgia then suddenly stood up from her seat.

"That would've been none other than me, the great Dragon Buster Georgia!" she gloated.

"Huh?!" Iris said, "But Simipour's a Water type Pokémon! If anything, you would have a disadvantage against Dragon types!"

"Well, that Simipour knows Ice Beam, so it would've been perfect for me," Georgia said, "Not to mention, I'd wipe the floor with you in a battle!"

"Oh yeah?!" Iris retorted. Axew hid behind Pikachu as he saw his trainer glare angrily at Georgia. Luckily, before the conflict could intensify, Ash spoke up.

"So Georgia, is that why Simipour hugged you back at the registration booth earlier today?" Ash asked.

"Yeah," Georgia replied, "Though Simipour's not my Pokémon, she's really friendly with me and Gingka."

"We ended up traveling together because of Simipour!" Gingka said as he put the Geyser Pokémon back into her Poké Ball.

"You what?!" Iris asked, "I can only imagine what a scary experience that was for you, Gingka…" she sighed. Georgia was immediately enraged by what Iris said.

"HEY!" she shouted, "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, SO WHO ARE YOU TO SAY THAT IT WAS A SCARY EXPERIENCE?!"

"WELL I KNOW THAT YOU'RE SUCH A BIG BOSSY KID!" Iris retorted.

"OH YEAH?!" Georgia screamed.

"YEAH!" Iris replied. Everyone moved back from the table, afraid to get caught in the rivals' argument.

"Axew…" Axew sighed. As everyone finished up their dinner, Ash, Iris, and Cilan cleaned up what was left of the remaining food, while everyone else went back to their rooms in the Pokémon Center. The trio soon returned to their room, feeling tired as ever, and ready to go to sleep.

"Man, am I stuffed…" Ash sighed as he landed on his comfy bed face first.

"We've all had quite a long day, and there's a lot more to come," Cilan said, as he put on his nightshirt.

"I'm going to be battling tomorrow too!" Iris said, "I wonder who I'll be up against… I wonder what Pokémon I should use…" she said to herself, letting out a yawn.

"Get some rest Iris, you'll need it tomorrow," Ash said with a yawn.

"All right…" Iris said sleepily, "Good night Ash… good night Cilan…" she said as she fell asleep instantly. Ash also slept as well, the right side of his face dug into the pillow. Cilan chuckled as he slipped into his own bed, falling fast asleep.

Meanwhile, in another room, Masamune, Tsubasa, & Gingka were preparing to go to sleep. While Tsubasa and Masamune were preparing to fall asleep, Gingka was practicing with his bey launcher, pulling back the ripcord every few seconds. "Gingka, do you really need to practice launching right now?" Masamune asked, getting his attention, "I mean I know you haven't used a bey for a while, but you should really get some rest."

"He's right Gingka," Tsubasa said, opening an eye, "You should get some rest since you are going to be battling tomorrow." He then sat up as stretched out his arms.

"Besides, if you don't get into the second round, who am I going to beat in the finals?" Masamune asked. Gingka smiled on his friend's comment.

"All right," he said, "I should get some rest." He then sprawled his body across his bed and yawned as he fell asleep instantly. Masamune also dozed off too, as Tsubasa was still awake. '_When the second round comes… If I have to face that Tenten girl…_' he thought as he clenched his fists. He then fell asleep soon after.

In another room, Ben, Rex, and Naruto were waiting to go to bed while Hinata was in the bathroom, taking a shower. "So, we all haven't battled yet, and we're still not sure what Pokémon your friends might have?" Rex asked Naruto.

"No, it's not certain," Naruto said, lying down in his bed, "If anything, we should just try our best tomorrow against them."

"Then we should get some rest," Rex said. Without warning however, a pillow flew straight into Rex's face. "Hey!" he shouted as he removed the pillow to see Ben chuckling on his bed, a pillow missing. "Okay, if that's how you want to play it…" Rex said with a grin as he tossed the pillow back to Ben. He ducked, avoiding it easily.

"You missed!" Ben said, but he then was struck across the side with something soft. He turned to see that Naruto had thrown a pillow at him. "Oh, it's on!" Ben said as he grabbed another pillow. Rex and Naruto did the same, and soon it became an all-out pillow fight. The three teens soon began going head to head with each other, like this pillow was a war. Ben and Rex then ganged up on Naruto, knocking him down with their pillows.

"Nice one!" Rex complimented. Naruto got back up, grinning brightly.

"What's so funny?" Ben asked.

"Two against one, huh?" Naruto said, weaving a seal on his fingers that looked like a t as he crossed them. Ben and Rex gasped as Naruto made his seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he exclaimed as three clouds of smoke surrounded him. They disappeared to reveal three exact copies of Naruto, each of which grabbed a pillow. Ben and Rex cringed as they were now outmatched in this situation. "Get 'em!" Naruto said as his clones began to overwhelm Ben and Rex.

"Hey no fair!" Rex whined as Naruto's clones kept on pounding him with pillows. He then decided that if Naruto was going to use his powers, then he would use his as well. Blue lines ran down Rex's arms as he grabbed another pillow. His hands then morphed into large, mechanical hands, which he called the Smackhands. The clones freaked out as Rex swung the Smackhands downward, hitting both clones, making them poof into smoke and vanish into thin air. "I got mine!" he shouted to Ben.

"Great, so I'll take mine down then," Ben said as he tapped the Omnitrix on his left wrist. A green holographic circle then started floating above the strange watch. It turned until Ben had apparently found what he was looking for, and then disappeared as the watch opened, with an hourglass symbol button popping up. He then used his right hand and slammed the button down, becoming encased in a bright green light. Ben's body then began to morph as well. However, unlike Rex, his body was completely changed as he was covered in what looked like building blocks, and looked somewhat like a gorilla. "Bloxx?!" he said as he looked himself over, "I was going for Fourarms, but this'll do." He then turned to Naruto and his remaining clone.

"Oh man, you've gotta be kidding me…" Naruto said with a gulp.

"Now to really shake things up!" Bloxx said, grabbing a pillow. He then extended his building block arm, pushing through Naruto's clone, which vanished into smoke, hitting the real Naruto with the pillow. However, he apparently did that a little too well as Naruto was slammed straight through the door, which was smashed to pieces, and then crashed into the wall, knocking him out.

"Dude!" Rex shouted.

"Um… Oops?" Bloxx said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Let's hope nobody heard that…" Rex said. Unfortunately for Ben and Rex, others did hear the noise.

"Pika!" Pikachu said, nudging Ash awake.

"Pikachu, what's up…?" Ash said, rubbing his eyes.

"Pika Pika pi!" the electric mouse replied, trying to say he heard something out in the hallways. Iris and Cilan also woke up on account of Pikachu's talking.

"Ash, what's the matter?" Iris asked.

"Axew…" Axew said with a yawn as he stretched out next to Iris.

"Pikachu says something's up," Ash said, "I'm gonna go check out the hall, so you guys can get back to sleep," he said.

"Okay, just get back here soon," Cilan said as he lied down on his pillow, closing his eyes.

"I'll go with you Ash," Iris said surprisingly. But it made Ash smile nonetheless as he and Iris, along with Axew and Pikachu left the room to see what was up. Back in the hall, Bloxx and Rex were arguing about what to do with the unconscious Naruto.

"I say we just put him back in his bed, and it'll look like he's sleeping!" Rex said.

"That's a great idea, but what if he wakes up and tries to attack us for what we did?" Bloxx questioned.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who went overboard with his powers and knocked him out," Rex said, "If anything, he'll hit you first."

"Hey, he used his powers first, so it's only fair that I used mine!" Bloxx retorted.

"Except you could've used a quieter alien!" Rex said.

"Quieter alien?" Bloxx asked.

"You know, like that moth guy with the ice powers, or that electric yeti, or even the speedy one!" Rex yelled.

"You do realize they have names, right?" Bloxx asked sarcastically, making Rex face palm.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" a voice asked down the hall. Bloxx and Rex turned to see Gingka and Masamune running down the hall towards them, along with Ash and Iris.

"Ash, Gingka!" Rex said relieved. Bloxx was also thankful because he didn't want anyone who didn't know about his secret identity to find out about his powers.

"What happened?" Iris asked. She then looked down to see a rather dazed Naruto. "Oh, I see," she said annoyed.

"What were you guys doing?" Masamune asked, still tired.

"Um, pillow fighting?" Bloxx said, embarrassed.

"Wow, what little kids," Iris said with a shrug.

"Ax Axew," Axew agreed.

"Hey, we were just-" Rex stopped his sentence the moment he saw Naruto stir. "Oh man…" Rex said backing away slowly. Naruto then stood up and tackled Bloxx to the ground.

"Hey Naruto, stop it!" Bloxx screamed as Naruto continued to wrestle with him. Ash and the others just watched sweat dropping as the two continued to tussle while Rex tried to sneak back in the room. However, Rex ended up bumping into something before he could get safely inside. He had bumped into Hinata, who was wearing her bright purple pajamas after taking a much-needed shower.

"What's going on out here?" she asked as she watched Naruto and Bloxx wrestling. They stopped the instant they heard her voice.

"Hinata?" they both said in unison. Immediately, they let of each of each other and sat down.

"W-We weren't doing anything!" Bloxx said, "We're just sitting out here… um…"

"Thinking of a strategy for tomorrow!" Naruto finished.

"Yeah, just trying to think of a good strategy!" Bloxx said.

"So you had to leave your room to do it?" Iris asked sarcastically. However, Hinata unknowingly believed them.

"Well okay, get some rest soon though," she said as she went back into the room, shutting the door. Bloxx, Naruto, and Rex sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness she didn't ask why you were building block man, or whatever," Rex said.

"It's Bloxx, Rex," he replied, tapping the dial on his chest, which reverted him back to Ben.

"So, no hard feelings?" Ben asked Naruto.

"Nah," Naruto said, giving the alien boy a handshake, "No hard feelings."

The others, besides Rex, all sweat dropped at how easily the fight was resolved. "You guys better get some rest for tomorrow!" Ash said, "I want to see you in the second round!"

"Will do!" Naruto said, pumping his fist. They all went back into their room, closing the door behind them.

"We should get to back to sleep too," Gingka said. Ash and Iris nodded. Ash then noticed something.

"Hey, where'd Masamune go?" Ash asked.

"Pika…" Pikachu sighed as he pointed to a sleeping Masamune, who was lying on the floor.

"Please tell me we don't have to carry him…" Ash moaned.

"Well, I guess we can't wake him up, so yeah," Gingka replied. Ash groaned at the thought of having to lift a sleeping Masamune back to his room, but disregarded it as he knew it would be quick if Iris also helped.

"Hey Iris, can you-" Ash was about to ask, but Iris was long gone, and so were Pikachu and Axew. "Great…" Ash groaned as he picked up Masamune by the arms, while Gingka got his legs.

X

As the spectators were piling into the stadium, Ash, Cilan, and Iris were all walking along back to the stadium as well. However, Ash was not in such a good mood as he held his back on the way there. "Jeez Ash," Iris said, "Was the bed too uncomfortable for your back?" she asked.

"No," Ash retorted, "It's just that since me and Gingka had to carry Masamune back to his room last night, I think I hurt my back…" he moaned.

"Pika Pika?" Pikachu asked in worry.

"Man," Ash began to say, "I don't know what Masamune eats, but he's certainly heavy!" he said. Just then something zoomed by his feet. "WAH!" he yelled in surprise, stepping back. He then saw that there were two beyblades zooming around the sidewalk, clashing with each other, sparks flying everywhere they struck. "Cool!" Ash exclaimed. He then noticed that one of the beys had a light green, turquoise color. The other that followed it was a dark purple bey with a red center. Since they were spinning so fast, Ash could tell that this battle had just begun.

"Striker, come back!" a voice yelled. The light green bey then sped off, back to Masamune. The bey jumped into his hand, and stopped spinning once he caught it.

"Hey, Masamune!" Ash called out, running up to the beyblader. "So, were you just practicing with your bey for the Beyblade World Championship?" he asked.

"Yeah," Masamune replied, "We're gonna be fighting a lot of opponents, so this is the perfect opportunity to practice!"

"Except we'll need to work harder than that in order to make it to the finals," Tsubasa said, catching his bey, Earth Eagle, in his hand. "More importantly, we should focus on completing this tournament before anything else," he said looking back at the stadium. Just then, the loudspeakers started to hum as and announcement was about to be made.

"_Attention, attention! Please, may we have all the members of the Shinobi 16 and the Galaxy Trainers report to the stadium immediately!" _the loudspeakers boomed.

"Come on guys, let's go!" Tsubasa said as he rushed to the stadium.

"Wait for us Tsubasa!" Masamune shouted as he followed him into the stadium. Ash and the others also tagged along, as the second day of the Club Battle Ninja Tournament was about to begin.

X

"Welcome back to the Icirrus City annual Club Battle Ninja Tournament everyone!" Freddy O'Martin boomed over the microphone, "Now let's prepare for the second half of the round 1 battles!" he shouted. All the Galaxy Trainers showed up at the stadium, as well as every member of the Shinobi 16.

"All right!" Lee exclaimed, "Here's to another day of youthful battles!"

"Except, we're not battling again, even if we did win yesterday," Kiba groaned.

"But our friends shall prevail!" Lee replied, "By the end of the day, I know that most of the trainers going to the next round will be from our side!" he said with passion.

"Try not to get so fired up…" Neji said in reply. Back on the Galaxy Trainers' side, everyone, except for Ryuga were talking with each other while the large screen showed the trainers that had already made it into the second round.

"All right folks, our remaining competitors still have yet to battle, so let's get things started!" Don George announced as the screen showed the cards of the remaining 16 trainers that hadn't battled yet. The cards then began to shuffle, shifting in different directions. Everyone watched in anticipation as two cards had made their way to the center of the screen. The cards flipped, revealing the ninth match up of the first round.

"The ninth battle will be Ino versus Iris!" Freddy boomed into the microphone, making the crowd cheer loudly.

"All right!" Iris exclaimed, "I'm up first!"

"Looks like it's my turn," Ino said.

"Make sure not to screw this battle up Ino-pig," Sakura taunted. Shikamaru and Choji cringed once Sakura said her infamous nickname.

"Don't worry, I won't do as bad as you did, billboard-brow," Ino retorted as she walked off. Sakura angrily clenched her fists at the mention of her own nickname while Shikamaru and Choji sighed in relief, glad that Ino didn't go overboard and end up fighting with her.

"Hey, Naruto, what's this Ino girl like?" Iris asked.

"She's Sakura's rival for starters," Naruto replied, "She's also got a knack for selling flowers."

"Flowers?" Iris asked.

"S-She has a flower shop back in the Leaf Village," Hinata said. Iris then began to ponder the possibilities from the information she was just given.

"Okay, I got it!" she said, turning back to Axew. "Sorry Axew, but I'm not going to need you for this battle, so you can just stay here and cheer for me, okay?" she said to the little Dragon type.

"Ew!" he replied with a nod.

"Great, wish me luck!" Iris said as she jumped over the railing and took her position on her side of the field.

"All right folks, let's introduce our two trainers!" O'Martin shouted. "First, we have the violet princess with amazing skills, Ino! Along with her opponent, the girl who knows the hearts of Dragons, Iris!"

"If she knows the hearts of Dragons so well, why isn't she using Axew?" Georgia asked.

"Probably because she has a strategy to fight against this Ino person," Cilan replied. The battlefield was then changed to a grassy plain with the Poké Ball symbol in the middle.

"All right, you may begin when ready!" the referee exclaimed, swinging his arm down. Ino enlarged a Poké Ball, as did Iris.

"Go Lilligant!" Ino exclaimed, throwing the ball. It popped open, and the light from it formed into the Flowering Pokémon, Lilligant.

"Lilli!" she exclaimed with a twirl. Gingka took out his Pokédex upon seeing Lilligant for the first time.

"_Lilligant: The Flowering Pokémon, and the evolved form of Petilil. The fragrance of the garland on her head has a relaxing effect, but taking care of her is very difficult,_" the Pokédex stated.

"What's a garland?" Ash asked.

"It must be the flower on Lilligant's head," Tsubasa said, "and from seeing how it looks, I'd bet that Ino's taken excellent care of her Lilligant." Iris smiled on account of her opponent's Pokémon. '_I thought she'd use a Grass type!_' she exclaimed in her head.

"Excadrill, let's go!" Iris exclaimed as she threw her own Poké Ball into the air. The ball opened, and the light from it formed into the Subterrene Pokémon, Excadrill.

"Excadrill!" he exclaimed, ready for battle.

"Iris is using Excadrill, cool!" Ash exclaimed in excitement.

"So, the battle is between Lilligant and Excadrill!" Freddy stated.

"Ground type attacks aren't very effective against Grass types, while Grass type attacks are super effective against Ground types," Don George stated.

"However, Excadrill is a Ground and Steel type, while Lilligant is just a Grass type," Brycen said, "I believe this'll be an interesting match up."

"All right Lilligant, Sunny Day!" Ino called out. Lilligant's leaf like arms turned a bright yellow as she launched a beam of light into the sky. The light then suddenly made the sun intensify as it shined brightly over the battlefield.

"Excadrill, Metal Claw!" Iris ordered. The mole Pokémon's claws became coated in steel as he rushed towards the Flowering Pokémon, ready to strike. Ino grinned.

"Dodge it and use Magical Leaf!" she commanded. Lilligant instantly vanished before Excadrill could strike.

"Ex?!" he said in surprise as he stopped his attack, looking for Lilligant frantically.

"Where'd it go?!" Iris asked. Just then, several crescent shaped leaves began to rain down on Excadrill, striking him over and over, pushing him back to Iris. "Excadrill, are you all right?" she asked.

"Exca!" he replied, fury in his eyes.

"How was Lilligant able to dodge that Metal Claw?" Bianca asked.

"Chlorophyll," Trip replied surprisingly, "It's Lilligant's ability. When in bright sunlight, Lilligant can move twice as fast as she normally would."

"Wow, that's some ability!" Bianca exclaimed.

"Ino knew how to use that ability to her advantage too, so I wouldn't be surprised," Trip said.

"Excadrill, use Dig!" Iris commanded. Excadrill then used his steel claws to dig a hole underground as Lilligant watched carefully for where her opponent would come out. Suddenly, Excadrill popped out of the ground and struck Lilligant with his claw, knocking her back.

"Lilligant!" Ino exclaimed.

"Now use Focus Blast!" Iris ordered. The Subterrene Pokémon then created a bright blue ball of energy from his claws, and then launched it at Lilligant.

"Quick, dodge it and use Magical Leaf!" Ino ordered. The Grass type followed her orders as she jumped away from the Focus Blast, her leaf like arms began to glow a bright green. She crossed them, and then spread them outward as more crescent like leaves began to rain down on Excadrill. Fortunately, Iris saw this trick coming.

"Excadrill, Drill Run!" Iris commanded. The mole Pokémon then put his claws and head together, to form himself into what looked like a drill. He span rapidly as he slashed through the Magical Leaf barrage, and hit Lilligant again.

"Lilligant, no!" Ino screamed as the Flowering Pokémon fell to the ground.

"Wow, what an effective strategy!" O'Martin exclaimed.

"All right Iris!" Masamune cheered.

"Ax Axew!" Axew shouted happily.

"Finish it up Iris!" Ash called out.

"You got it!" Iris replied, "Excadrill, Drill Run, once more!" she ordered. Excadrill went back into his drill mode once again, speeding towards Lilligant. Suddenly, Ino cracked a smile.

"Lilligant, Attract!" Ino called out. All of a sudden, Lilligant winked, and several pink hearts formed, surrounding Excadrill's Drill Run, and then hitting him, making him glow pink. He suddenly got out of his drill mode before hitting Lilligant, and stopped right in front of her, hearts in his eyes, fawning over her.

"Ahhh!" Iris screamed as Excadrill was now love struck.

"Oh man!" Stephan gasped, "This is bad!"

"If Excadrill can't attack, then that means…" Ash was about to say but completely disregarded it as he saw what followed.

"Lilligant, Petal Dance!" Ino commanded. Lilligant span around as tons of cherry blossom petals rained upon Excadrill, who didn't even make an effort to dodge them.

"Come on Excadrill, snap out of it!" Iris screamed. Excadrill got up with hearts still in his eyes, practically drooling over Lilligant.

"Looks like Excadrill is completely infatuated!" Don George exclaimed.

"Another Petal Dance!" Ino ordered. Lilligant again, shot another Petal Dance, striking Excadrill yet again.

"Excadrill, please!" Iris yelled, "I know you can do it!" But again, the Subterrene Pokémon was still in love with the Flowering Pokémon.

"That barrage of Petal Dances are battering Excadrill!" Freddy exclaimed, "Will it survive this match?!"

"One more time!" Ino ordered. Lilligant was ready to launch a third Petal Dance, as Excadrill was immobile.

"EXCADRILL!" Iris screamed at the top of her lungs with tears in her eyes as the petals were about to rain down upon him. Excadrill then blinked, his eyes turned back to normal as his right claw became coated in steel. He slashed away the petals before they could strike him.

"What?!" Ino exclaimed.

"Excadrill!" Iris said happily.

"Excadrill!" he replied happily.

"Unbelievable!" Freddy boomed, "Excadrill has somehow snapped out of its infatuation to Lilligant!"

"Excadrill has heard it's trainer's voice, so now this is a serious fight," Brycen said, impressed.

"Oh well," Ino sighed, "Lilligant, Petal Dance!" she ordered, but Lilligant was only wobbling around. "L-Lilligant, what's wrong?!" she asked frantically.

"Hey, Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled from the Shinobi 16's side of the field, "If Lilligant uses Petal Dance too much, she'll get confused, don't you remember?!"

"Ahh, I forgot!" Ino admitted as she grabbed her head in embarrassment.

"Man, what a drag that is, huh Choji?" Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, it definitely is," Choji said, munching on some potato chips.

"Okay, Excadrill, Focus Blast!" Iris ordered. Excadrill formed another bright blue ball of energy upon his claws, launching it at Lilligant. It struck, leaving the Grass type in a daze. "Now, use Drill Run!" Iris commanded. Excadrill then went into his drill mode and span towards Lilligant, striking her with ferocity. However, Lilligant got up with a serious look in her eyes.

"Yes!" Ino exclaimed, "Lilligant's not confused anymore, so now use Magical Leaf!" The Flowering Pokémon then launched another barrage of crescent like leaves directly towards Excadrill.

"Dodge it with Dig!" Iris called.

"Ex!" the Subterrene Pokémon replied as he dug underground, avoiding the attack.

"Now come out and use Metal Claw!" Iris commanded. Excadrill popped out of the ground right in front of Lilligant, surprising her as both his claws become coated in steel, striking her back towards Ino. She fell to the ground hard, swirls in her eyes.

"Lilligant!" Ino exclaimed.

"Lilligant is unable to battle, Excadrill wins, and therefore the victor is Iris!" the referee announced. The crowd cheered loudly as Iris ran up and hugged Excadrill tightly.

"Lilligant, return," Ino sighed as she fell to her knees. The screen now showed Iris' card placed above the 'WINNER' sign, which indicated her victory.

"Way to go Iris!" Gingka exclaimed.

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

"Axew!" Axew said as well.

"Jeez, we're off to a rough start again…" Shikamaru said, "What a drag."

"Too bad that Ino lost too," Tenten said. Iris went back to the Galaxy Trainers' side, greeted by compliments.

"Great job Iris!" Ash said.

"You did awesome out there!" Masamune said.

"Excadrill certainly showed a strong, passionate flavor," Cilan complimented.

"Thanks you guys!" Iris replied, a little embarrassed from their praise, "Hey, look!" she exclaimed, pointing to the screen. The remaining 14 cards were being shuffled around once again, and two were taken to the center of the screen.

"So let's see what match up will follow after an incredible battle like that!" Freddy exclaimed as the cards flipped over.

"Our tenth match up is Ben versus Choji!" Don George exclaimed.

"My lucky number!" Ben said, punching his hand, "Let's do this!" He then jumped over the railing and took his position on the battlefield. The field however, was currently changing, but mysteriously, it looked as if it was the grass field from the last match. "What the…" Ben was about to say, but disregarded it as he saw Choji take his position, "Hey Choji, it's been a while," he said.

"Yeah it has!" Choji replied, "Who would've thought we'd have to fight this way?"

"A battle's still a battle though," Ben said, "So let's get it started!"

"Well folks, our next battle is about to begin!" Freddy shouted into the microphone, "First we have Ben, the trainer who gives 110% effort into his battles!" he introduced.

"On the other side is his opponent, the gluttonous battler, Choji!" Don introduced as well.

"Gluttonous?!" Choji yelled.

"All right, are both trainers ready?" the referee asked.

"Yeah!" the two trainers both said.

"Then you may begin!" the referee exclaimed, swing his arm down.

"All right Ben, let's see what you got!" Choji said.

"Same old Choji," Ben chuckled as he took out a Poké Ball, "Scolipede, let's rock!" he exclaimed as he tossed the ball. It opened, and the light from it formed into the Megapede Pokémon, Scolipede.

"Scoli!" he shouted as he was readying himself for battle, kicking the dust with his legs. Choji then took out his own Poké Ball.

"All right Simisear, take 'em on!" he exclaimed, hurling the ball. Upon opening, the light formed into the Ember Pokémon, Simisear.

"Simi Simisear!" he yelled into the air.

"Simisear is facing up against Scolipede!" O'Martin shouted.

"Being a Fire type, Simisear has the advantage over a Bug and Poison type like Scolipede," Don George explained.

"Despite that, I expect to see an interesting battle between these two," Brycen said.

"Scolipede, Steamroller!" Ben ordered. Scolipede began to charge forward and then he rolled himself up into a ball as he sped towards Simisear. However, Ben didn't realize that this new battlefield had obstacles other than the previous one. A log suddenly popped out of the ground upwards in Scolipede's path, tripping the Megapede Pokémon, sending him crashing into the ground.

"Oh my!" Freddy exclaimed.

"What was that?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" Pikachu said in worry.

"Scoli…" Scolipede moaned as he stood up.

"What's with this field?" Ben asked. '_Is it some sort of random obstacle stadium, like the water log field or the rock pillar field?_' he asked himself.

"Simisear, use Rock Slide!" Choji ordered. The Ember Pokémon was covered in a white outline as several rocks began to tumble down upon Scolipede from seemingly nowhere.

"Quick Scolipede, dodge it!" Ben called out. Unfortunately, Scolipede couldn't really dodge anything, for every time he avoided a rock, a log that popped out of the ground randomly hit him, and some of the rocks would end up striking him back to Ben.

"Now use Bite!" Choji ordered. Simisear's teeth glowed a bright white as he sunk them into the large centipede Pokémon's neck.

"SCCCOOOLLLIIII!" he screamed in agonizing pain.

"Hang in there Scolipede!" Ben encouraged, gritting his teeth. Suddenly, Scolipede looked down to see a rather sick looking Simisear still biting down on him. He then shook the Ember Pokémon off of his neck easily, and notice that there was a purple mark on his face. Not to mention, he was sparking with purple electricity.

"It's Scolipede's Poison Point!" Cilan exclaimed, "Upon taking a physical attack, Scolipede can poison a Pokémon that attacks it, like Simisear in this instance!"

"Great!" Ash exclaimed, "Now all Ben has to do is win the battle!"

"Get 'em Ben!" Gingka cheered.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu yelled.

"All right, Venoshock!" Ben commanded. Scolipede then swung his head towards Simisear, launching green sludge from his mouth, which struck the Ember Pokémon in the face, knocking him down. "Now use Double-Edge!" Ben ordered. Scolipede then charged forward, his body covered in a yellow aura as he struck the fire monkey again, knocking him into some wood pillars that popped up. "Just like pinball! Nice one Scolipede!" Ben complimented.

"Scolipede fights back with amazing tactics!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Choji!" Shikamaru shouted from the sidelines, getting his friend's attention, "Watch out for that Venoshock, it's more powerful when the opposing Pokémon is poisoned!"

"I got it!" Choji replied, "Simisear, Work Up!" he commanded. Simisear became outlined in a red aura upon the command. '_Better wrap this up quick!_' Ben said to himself.

"Scolipede, Venoshock!" he ordered. The Megapede Pokémon then shot another array of green sludge at Simisear.

"Dodge it and use Fire Blast!" Choji called out. Simisear jumped away from the toxic attack, and then spewed flames from his mouth, for what resembled a star.

"What?!" Ben exclaimed as the flaming star struck Scolipede, leaving an explosion on the battlefield. The smoke cleared momentarily, leaving Scolipede lying on the ground, dazed from the battle.

"Scolipede is unable to battle, Simisear wins, and that means the winner is Choji!" the referee announced. The crowd cheered immensely as the screen showed Ben's card erased, and Choji's being depicted as the victor. Ben sighed as he walked to Scolipede.

"Scolipede…" the Megapede Pokémon apologized, hoping his trainer wouldn't be mad with him.

"Don't worry about it Scolipede," Ben said, "You did just fine today, now take a good rest," he said returning the large centipede to his Poké Ball. He then walked up to Choji, who had returned Simisear to his Poké Ball as well.

"Ben, that was a fun battle," Choji said, "Although if would be a completely different story if we fought each other."

"I hear ya," Ben replied, reaching out his hand for a handshake which Choji gladly accepted. "Good luck with the second round dude!" The crowd clapped and cheered as the two trainers wished each other luck for the future.

"Well that was quite the scorching battle!" Freddy boomed, "Now it's time to see what our eleventh match will be!" The crowd was on its feet once again, excited to see the next battle.

"It's too bad you didn't win Ben…" Rex said.

"Hey, a battle's just a battle," Ben replied, "I'll win next time!" Rex smiled, but then turned his attention to the screen to see the residual 12 cards being moved around until two made their way to the center. They flipped, and Rex and the others, minus Trip and Ryuga, gasped upon the reveal.

"The eleventh match up is Gaara versus Rex!" Don George boomed.

"Just my luck," Rex said with a sigh.

"All right, let's go Rex!" Gingka and Ash cheered. Rex just smiled as he took his position at the battlefield, which was currently changing. Gaara arrived at his position just as the field had changed to a sand based field.

"Looks like the battlefield has changed to the sand field!" Freddy announced, "What kind of battle will be displayed by these two trainers?" Rex took out a Poké Ball, enlarging it.

"All right, you may begin!" the referee shouted while swinging down his arm.

"Klang, let's hit it!" Rex exclaimed as he tossed his Poké Ball, and the light emerging from it formed into the Gear Pokémon, Klang.

"Klang Klang," it chimed, spinning its three gears.

"Cool, a Klang!" Ash said excitedly, taking out his Pokédex.

"_Klang: The Gear Pokémon, and the evolved form of Klink. A minigear and big gear comprise its body. If the minigear it launches at a foe doesn't return, it will die,_" the Pokédex stated. Gaara was unfazed by the decision, and decided to bring out his own Poké Ball.

"Krookodile, please assist me!" he called out, launching the ball into the air. It opened, and emerging from it, the light formed into the Intimidation Pokémon, Krookodile.

"Krooko!" he exclaimed. Ash scanned the crocodile-like Pokémon as well.

"_Krookodile: The Intimidation Pokémon, and the evolved form of Krokorok. Very violent Pokémon, they try to clamp down on anything that moves in front of their eyes,_" the Pokédex stated.

"Cool! The evolved form of Krokorok!"

"Being a Ground and Dark type, Krookodile has the advantage over a Steel type like Klang," Don said.

"So let's see what kind of battle they'll have in store for us, shall we?" Freddy said.

"Klang, Shift Gear!" Rex called out.

"Klang Klang," it replied as its minigears began shifting around each other.

"What was that?" Ash asked.

"Shift Gear is a move that only Klang's evolutionary line can learn," Tsubasa said.

"It increases both Klang's attack and its speed," Cilan explained.

"Rex looks like he has a strategy up his sleeve despite the type disadvantage," Don George stated.

"Now let's see how Gaara will counter that!" Freddy boomed. But Gaara didn't give a command yet.

"Hey Naruto, what's Gaara like?" Gingka asked.

"Uh… Gaara's more or less the kind of person who has an easy time making friends and allies," Naruto said, "He is the Sand Village's Kazekage after all."

"Kazekage?" Masamune asked.

"He means that Gaara is the leader of the Sand Village," Hinata continued.

"Woah, that's cool!" Stephan exclaimed.

"Being the leader of his own village, wow!" Iris exclaimed.

"Gear Grind!" Rex ordered from the field. Klang's gears began spinning rapidly as he lunged forward with greater speed thanks to that Shift Gear.

"Dig," Gaara called out. Krookodile then easily dug his way under the sand, evading the intended Gear Grind.

"Dang it!" Rex yelled, "Where'd it go?!" he asked frantically as he searched over the sand. He then put his goggles on. From at the sand through the goggles, he could see Krookodile right under Klang, just waiting to strike. "Klang, it's right below you!" Rex exclaimed just as the Intimidation Pokémon jumped out of the sand, ready to strike.

"Klang," Klang chimed as he avoided Krookodile before he could jump down on him.

"All right, use Flash Cannon!" Rex commanded. Klang then formed a ball of white-looking energy, which formed into a laser beam that struck Krookodile, knocking him back to Gaara.

"Krookodile…" he groaned as he got up.

"Impressive," Gaara said, "You were able to trace Krookodile's movements under the sand…"

"What can I say?" Rex said, "I've got a knack for finding things."

"But apparently, you don't have a knack for knowing things," Gaara said with a smirk.

"Huh?" Rex said.

"Sand Tomb!" Gaara commanded. Krookodile then spread out his claws as a huge burst of sand began to spin and trap Klang.

"Klang no!" Rex shouted.

"Use Dig!" Gaara ordered. The crocodile Pokémon dug another hole into the sand, leaving Klang trapped in the Sand Tomb.

"Come on Klang, get out of there!" Rex encouraged. Klang was fighting to break free of the sand, but didn't realize that Krookodile was about to do that for him. Krookodile then jumped out of the sand and struck Klang with his tail, knocking the Gear Pokémon out of the Sand Tomb.

"Klang!" Rex exclaimed.

"Now use Crunch!" Gaara ordered. Krookodile's jaws glowed a bright white as he jumped back towards Klang and bit into his minigears.

"Quick, get him off of you!" Rex called out. Klang frantically moved around as Krookodile's jaws dug into its metal body.

"Toss it away!" Gaara commanded. Krookodile then landed back on the ground with his jaws still sunk in Klang's body, he threw the Gear Pokémon back down onto the sand, sending him tumbling back to Rex's side of the field.

"Klang, you okay?" Rex asked.

"Klang," it chimed in reply.

"Okay, we'll finish this battle with one last attack, Gear Grind!" Rex called out. Klang then sped towards Krookodile, ready to crush the Intimidation Pokémon with the teeth of his gears.

"Outrage!" Gaara ordered.

"What?!" Rex exclaimed. Krookodile eyes began to shine a bright red as he was covered in a bright red outline. He then lunged forward and punched and kicked Klang back, and then kept on striking him without stopping.

"What a trick!" Freddy exclaimed, "Krookodile's Outrage is completely battering Klang!"

"Outrage's effects last for a short time, but they prove to be quite effective," Don George said. Iris cringed when she saw the move used.

"Iris, what's the matter?" Ash asked, noticing her look.

"Oh, it's nothing, really!" she replied hastily.

"KRRROOOOO!" Krookodile screamed as he struck Klang with his tail, sending it crashing into the stadium wall. When the smoke cleared, Klang was driven deep into the wall, unmoving at all.

"Klang!" Rex exclaimed.

"Klang is unable to battle, Krookodile wins, and therefore the victor is Gaara!" the referee announced. The crowd clapped and cheered as Gaara's card on the screen erased Rex's, and was now shown as the winner of the match.

"All right Gaara!" Kankuro cheered from the sidelines.

"Great job out there!" Temari exclaimed. Gaara smiled as he returned Krookodile to his Poké Ball.

"Klang, take a nice rest," Rex said as he returned the Gear Pokémon. Gaara then walked up to him. "Hey Gaara, what's up?" Rex asked.

"Apologies if my Krookodile went a bit overboard on your Klang as I can see," Gaara said, noticing the hole in the wall.

"Hey, a battle's just a battle, and you won it," Rex complimented, holding out his hand for a handshake, which Gaara gladly accepted.

"Wow, what an amazing battle!" Stephan exclaimed.

"Agreed, it brought a fine taste to the dining table that is battling," Burgundy said.

"You do realize this means were behind the Shinobi 16 in wins now, right?" Ben asked sarcastically, making Burgundy sweat drop.

"So folks, what did you all think of that battle?" Freddy asked, making the crowd cheer immensely.

"I hope you're all excited, cause the next battle is about to be decided!" Don George announced as the remaining cards began to shuffle again.

"Come on already, I've been waiting all day to battle!" Masamune yelled as the cards continued to shuffle. Everyone was watching and waiting to see what the twelfth match up would be. Finally, two cards made their way to the center of the screen. They flipped over, revealing the twelfth match up.

"Our twelfth match is Yamato versus Masamune!" Don George announced loudly.

"Yeah!" Masamune exclaimed, "It's about time! And just before lunch too!" he said excitedly as he ran onto the battlefield, which had changed to the rocky environment seen in Burgundy's recent battle.

"Naruto, who's Yamato?" Ash asked.

"He's sort of my guardian," Naruto replied, "Anyways, he's also interesting with his Wood Style."

"Wood?" Ash asked, "So could he have a Grass type Pokémon?"

"I-It'll probably depend on how Captain Yamato will view the battle…" Hinata said.

"So folks, without further ado, let's introduce our next two trainers!" Freddy boomed, "We have the strong wood master, Yamato!" he introduced.

"And his opponent, the mean, green, battling machine, Masamune!" Don George introduced.

"All right, are the both of you ready?" the referee asked.

"Yes!" the trainers both said.

"Then begin the match!"

"Timburr, let's go!" Masamune shouted, throwing a Poké Ball.

"Seismitoad, you're up!" Yamato exclaimed as he launched his own Poké Ball. The light from Masamune's Poké Ball formed into the Muscular Pokémon, Timburr, while the light from Yamato's Poké Ball formed into the Vibration Pokémon, Seismitoad.

"Timburr!" Timburr said, swinging his wooden beam around.

"Toad!" Seismitoad said as punched his hand, indicating that he was serious.

"Seismitoad versus Timburr, wow!" Ash said.

"But isn't a Water and Ground type like Seismitoad the opposite of Yamato's style?" Rex asked.

"No, in fact it's a good match for Captain Yamato!" Naruto noted, "In his Wood Style, he uses Water and Earth to produce his justus."

"That makes a lot of sense there," Ben said.

"All right, the first move will take the win!" Masamune exclaimed, "Timburr, Bulk Up!"

"Burr!" the Muscular Pokémon responded as his muscles expanded.

"Awesome!" Bianca said, awing the muscles.

"Bulk Up increases both Timburr's Attack and Defense," Tsubasa noted, "Masamune's playing this cleverly."

"All right, Seismitoad use Bulldoze!" Yamato ordered. The Vibration Pokémon slammed his hands into the earth and charged forward, tearing it up as he raced towards Timburr.

"Dodge it and use Strength!" Masamune called out. Timburr then dug his wooden beam perpendicular to the ground. He jumped on top of it, and then jumped again as Seismitoad charged through, hitting only the wooden beam, which Timburr then grabbed, and swung it down, striking the Vibration Pokémon on the head, knocking him down.

"Seismitoad!" Yamato exclaimed.

"Now use Focus Punch!" Masamune commanded. Timburr's right fist glowed a light blue as he ran for Seismitoad.

"Propel yourself in the air with Hydro Pump!" Yamato called out. Seismitoad's cheeks puffed up as he shot a huge spray of water from his mouth, propelling himself into the air, avoiding Timburr's Focus Punch. "Now use Hyper Voice!" Yamato ordered. Still in the air, Seismitoad's cheeks puffed up as he screamed down at Timburr, knocking the Muscular Pokémon back to Masamune's side of the field.

"Timburr, you okay?" Masamune asked as Seismitoad landed back on the ground.

"Timburr!" he replied with a thumbs up.

"Okay, use Rock Throw!" Masamune commanded. Timburr then used his wooden beam once again, hitting the rocks on the field in the direction towards Seismitoad.

"Counter those rocks with Drain Punch!" Yamato commanded. Seismitoad's two fists then became covered in orbs of green and black energy, he struck the rocks over and over, smashing them to pieces without taking a single scratch.

"No way!" Masamune exclaimed.

"T-Timburr…" Timburr stuttered.

"How did Seismitoad stop all those rocks?!" Ash asked frantically.

"Hold on a second…" Gingka said as he took out his Pokédex to scan Seismitoad.

"_Seismitoad: The Vibration Pokémon, and the evolved form of Palpitoad. By putting power into its bumps, Seismitoad creates vibrations and increases the power of its punches,_" the Pokédex stated.

"Those bumps must be how Seismitoad's Drain Punch is so powerful," Gingka noted.

"Seismitoad, Hydro Pump!" Yamato ordered. Seismitoad launched another huge stream of water from his mouth, directly headed for Timburr.

"Timburr, block it with Strength!" Masamune called out. The Muscular Pokémon then used his wooden beam to defend himself as the raging water poured down on him. He was however, able to stand his ground.

"Bulldoze!" Yamato commanded.

"Strength, again!" Masamune ordered. Seismitoad tore up the earth as he charged forward, while Timburr also charged forward, swinging his beam, blocking the Vibration Pokémon from attacking.

"Wow!" Freddy exclaimed, "What a battle this is turning out to be!"

"Looks like we're both stuck!" Masamune noted as Seismitoad and Timburr struggled to take one another down.

"On the contrary, you're the one who's stuck," Yamato said, "Seismitoad, Drain Punch!" he ordered. Seismitoad kept his right hand on the beam, while his left hand formed a Drain Punch, and swung it down at Timburr. Masamune cracked a grin.

"Dodge it and use Focus Punch!" he called out. The Muscular Pokémon let go of the wooden beam and jumped in the air, avoiding the large toad's Drain Punch. Timburr's right fist glowed a bright blue as he swung it down, striking Seismitoad again.

"TOOAODAOOAD!" the Vibration Pokémon croaked in pain.

"Don't give in!" Yamato called out, "Drain Punch, again!" Seismitoad's right fist formed another Drain Punch, and this time he was able to strike Timburr, who was immobile being in midair.

"Timburr!" Masamune cried out. Timburr crashed down in a daze, but got up. However, a purple mark was on his face as he was sparking with purple electricity. "Timburr, what's wrong?!" Masamune asked frantically.

"What happened?!" Gingka asked.

"That's Seismitoad's Poison Touch ability," Naruto noted, "When Seismitoad hits a Pokémon with a physical attack, it can sometimes get poisoned," he explained.

"I'm surprised you know that, considering you're not one to really focus on a Pokémon's abilities," Rex said. Naruto disregarded the comment as he continued to watch the battle.

"Come on Timburr, keep going!" Masamune encouraged.

"Timburr!" the Muscular Pokémon replied, picking up his wooden beam.

"Great!" Masamune said, "Now use Rock Throw!" he ordered. Timburr then hit more rocks, which were then headed for Seismitoad.

"Drain Punch!" Yamato ordered. Seismitoad's fists formed two Drain Punches as he smashed the rocks into pieces, leaving only dust and smoke.

"Once again, Seismitoad completely destroys the barrage of rocks, leaving Timburr in a tough spot!" Freddy said.

"Use Strength!" Masamune commanded. Timburr then ran through the dust and smoke, and struck Seismitoad again with his wooden beam.

"What an effective blow!" Freddy exclaimed.

"I would suggest that Timburr's ability is Guts, considering how powerful that Strength seemed, even more so than the last one…" Brycen noted.

"Tim… Tim…" Timburr breathed as he was beginning to wear down.

"Stay strong Timburr!" Masamune encouraged, "Just a few more hits!"

"Seismitoad, Hyper Voice!" Yamato commanded. Seismitoad screamed again, blowing Timburr's wooden beam out of his hand, and knocking the Muscular Pokémon down.

"Timburr!" Masamune yelled.

"Now use Hydro Pump!" Yamato ordered. Seismitoad launched another huge spray of water at Timburr, who couldn't dodge it as he was caught up in it and blown back to Masamune.

"Timburr, no!" Masamune exclaimed. He growled angrily at what had happened to his Pokémon.

"Oh my, is Timburr down for the count?" Freddy asked.

"Timburr…" the Muscular Pokémon moaned as he tried to stand back up, despite the battering of Seismitoad's attacks and the poison. He grabbed his wooden beam as he stood back up, tall and strong.

"Timburr, wow…" Masamune with a tear in his eye, "Okay let's do this!"

"It looks like Timburr still wants to fight!" Freddy screamed, "Talk about a noble Pokémon!"

"Go Masamune!" Gingka cheered.

"You can do it Timburr!" Ash cheered as well.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

"Let's go Timburr!" Masamune called out.

"Tim!" the Muscular Pokémon replied. All of a sudden, Timburr's entire body, including his wooden beam, began to glow a bright bluish green.

"Whoa!" Masamune said, "W-What's happening?!"

"Oh my goodness…" Yamato said as he saw Timburr glow.

"T-Toad…" Seismitoad stuttered.

"Timburr's evolving!" Ash exclaimed. Timburr's body was beginning to morph, as he was becoming much bigger, and his wooden beam appeared longer. His head suddenly looked like an afro, and his arms looked much stronger. Everyone, even Trip, awed the scene before them. The light disappeared, leaving a new Pokémon to stand in Timburr's place, his evolved form, Gurdurr.

"GURRRRDURRRRR!" he screamed into the air.

"Incredible!" Freddy boomed over the microphone, "Timburr has evolved into Gurdurr!"

"Not to mention, it looks like the poison effect has vanished upon Gurdurr's evolution," Brycen noted. Masamune took out his Pokédex upon the excitement of seeing his newly evolved Pokémon.

"_Gurdurr: The Muscular Pokémon, and the evolved form of Timburr. With strengthened bodies, they skillfully wield steel beams to take down buildings,_" the Pokédex stated.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Masamune exclaimed, "All right Gurdurr, let's see what you can do with Strength!" he ordered.

"Gur!" the Muscular Pokémon replied, running forward with his steel beam in hand, ready to strike Seismitoad.

"All right, Seismitoad, Hyper Voice!" Yamato ordered. Seismitoad screamed again, stopping Gurdurr in his tracks. However, unlike last time, Gurdurr was able to endure the Hyper Voice long enough to strike Seismitoad with his steel beam. "Seismitoad!" Yamato cried out.

"Toad…" the large toad moaned as he stood back up.

"All right, Hydro Pump!" Yamato commanded. Seismitoad launched another huge spray of water towards Gurdurr.

"Block it with Strength!" Masamune called out.

"Gur!" Gurdurr responded, using his steel beam to dispel the water blast.

"Bulldoze!" Yamato ordered. As Gurdurr dispelled the water, Seismitoad charged forward, plowing down the earth, and struck the Muscular Pokémon back, knocking the steel beam out of his hand and making it land into the ground.

"Gurdurr!" Masamune exclaimed.

"Gur…" the Muscular Pokémon growled as he stood back up. '_We have to end this now, or else Gurdurr's gonna lose!_' Masamune thought as he was ready to make his final command.

"Gurdurr, Focus Punch!" Masamune commanded. Gurdurr's right fist turned a light blue as he ran forward after Seismitoad.

"Seismitoad, Drain Punch!" Yamato ordered. A ball of green and black energy covered Seismitoad's left fist as he ran towards Gurdurr as well. The two Pokémon ran up to each other, and launched their punches at one another.

"Yes!" Masamune exclaimed as he noticed that Gurdurr appeared to have hit Seismitoad at the neck.

"Gurdurr," the Muscular Pokémon said, thinking he made the punch while Seismitoad didn't. However, Seismitoad moved his neck to reveal that Gurdurr had merely punched the air. "G-Gurdurr?!" he said in shock.

"No way…" Masamune said, "Gurdurr missed…?"

"Seis Seismitoad," the Vibration Pokémon chuckled as Gurdurr looked down to see that the large toad had struck him right in the chest.

"Gur…" the Muscular Pokémon said before falling backwards onto the ground.

"Gurdurr, no!" Masamune screamed.

"Gurdurr is unable to battle, Seismitoad wins, and therefore the winner is Yamato!" the referee announced, making the crowd cheer as Masamune's card on the board was erased, and Yamato's was shown as the winner.

"Well that was an amazing battle!" Freddy shouted, "That definitely works up an appetite!"

"Indeed," Don George said, "Despite Gurdurr's evolution, Seismitoad was still able to come out on top in this battle!"

"Gurdurr, return…" Masamune said, recalling the fainted Muscular Pokémon to his Poké Ball. He punched the ground in frustration upon losing.

"Masamune…" Gingka said in worry. Just then, Yamato walked up to the beyblader.

"Hey," he said getting his attention, "That was a good battle, and you should be proud that you did so well," Yamato said, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Sorry…" Masamune said, "But I'm not gonna shake hands with someone who won just because of some cheap trick!" he shouted as he ran off, jumping over the railing, exiting the stadium in a heartbeat.

"Masamune, wait!" Ash said, about to chase after him, but was stopped by Gingka.

"Ash, let me deal with Masamune," Gingka said, "You guys just get a break, okay?" Ash nodded, and upon that, Gingka gave chase to a rather upset Masamune, while the rest of the Galaxy Trainers returned to Pokémon Center to prepare for the remaining four battles…

CHAPTER END

Summary Time!

**Looking back upon his defeat, Masamune realizes he still has a long way to go as a trainer, and vows to become much stronger for the Unova League. In the meantime, the second half of Day 2 starts with Naruto facing Kankuro! Naruto starts with Sigilyph, while Kankuro uses Durant, and what will the outcome be…?! **

**As two battles remain, the Dragon Buster Georgia is placed up against the Hidden Cloud's Killer Bee! Bee, giving out commands to his Jellicent in raps, completely overwhelms Georgia and her Bisharp. And being unable to use Bisharp's signature move, Guillotine, how will Georgia fight back…?!**


	4. Rap Style Battle! Bisharp VS Jellicent!

NOTE: Sorry for the long wait on this chapter! School and other things have been keeping me pretty busy… Anyways, no bashing or flaming please! I would love some more reviews!

X

Back at the Icirrus City Pokémon Center, Masamune was waiting outside the emergency room as he looked through to glass to see his Gurdurr having his chest treated by Nurse Joy and Audino.

"Gurr…" he moaned as Nurse Joy patted his chest with some healing ointment.

"Don't worry Gurdurr," she replied, "You'll be just fine." Afterwards she then wrapped bandages over Gurdurr's chest as he sat up.

"Gurr…" he moaned again as the pain still wouldn't go away.

"Oh, of course!" Nurse Joy said with a snap as she realized something, "Audino, could you get me a Pecha Berry please?" she asked.

"Audino," the Hearing Pokémon replied as she skipped over to a cabinet, opening it up, and then grabbed what appeared to be heart-shaped fruit and brought it over to Nurse Joy.

"Gurdurr?" Gurdurr asked as Nurse Joy finished wrapping his bandages.

"This berry will help heal you from that poison you received in your last battle," Nurse Joy said, handing it to Gurdurr. The Muscular Pokémon took the berry into his hand and took a small bite.

"Gur Gurdurr!" he said happily, taking another bite out of the berry.

"All right then," Nurse Joy said happily, "Audino, Heal Pulse please."

"Au!" she replied as her hands began to form bright pink sphere, which then burst into a sparkling radiant aura that soothed Gurdurr.

"Gur…" he said, feeling relaxed. Masamune smiled as he saw that Gurdurr had finally recovered, but he was still feeling guilty for losing the battle against Yamato's Seismitoad, and running off the way he did. Just then, he noticed the bright red ER sign above the doors to the emergency room had been turned off as Nurse Joy and Audino walked out.

"Nurse Joy, thank you so much!" Masamune said as he ran over to her, "Is Gurdurr going to be okay now?" he asked.

"Gurdurr is expected to make a full recovery soon!" Nurse Joy replied.

"Audino!" the Hearing Pokémon said as well.

"What a relief…" Masamune said, putting his hand over his chest.

"You should let Gurdurr rest for a while," Nurse Joy recommended, "You're welcome to stay with him as long as you'd like."

"Thank you," Masamune said with a bow. Nurse Joy smiled, and then walked back to the reception counter to see to any more patients. Masamune then looked back into the emergency room to see Gurdurr had fallen asleep, lying on the countertop. Masamune touched the glass with his right hand as he observed his Pokémon resting peacefully. He clenched his fist angrily as he was still feeling so stupid and pathetic for losing that battle.

"Masamune," a voice called out. The beyblader turned to see Gingka standing right beside him, looking at him with worry in his eyes.

"Oh, hey Gingka…" he groaned.

"Are you okay?" Gingka asked as he looked into the emergency room.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Masamune said, turning away from his friend.

"You don't sound fine…" Gingka noticed. Masamune didn't say anything and just sighed. "What happened back there?" Gingka asked, "It's not like you to ignore a compliment from somebody for doing a good job in battle…"

"I know," Masamune replied, still sulking, "I just feel like I've let Gurdurr down, even after he worked so hard to try and win, and even evolve!"

"Yeah that's true," Gingka said, "But don't forget that you gave your best effort out there, and so did Gurdurr," he said with a smile. Masamune blinked, but then smiled as he realized that a battle was just a battle. He could've won, but he didn't, and yet he still shouldn't have been upset about it.

"Thanks Gingka," Masamune said, reaching out his fist for a fist bump, which Gingka gladly returned. "Next time though, I will win!" he said confidently, "You just make sure you get into the second round, okay?"

"Yeah!" Gingka replied. Suddenly, both boys heard their stomachs growl. They both laughed loudly rather than be embarrassed.

"Man, I guess all those battles worked up quite an appetite, huh?" Masamune said.

"Yeah, let's hurry before all the good food gets taken!" Gingka said as he raced down the hall.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Masamune shouted, running after Gingka, leaving Gurdurr to rest in the emergency room.

X

"Ugh…" Naruto moaned as he looked down at the food on his plate. He had chicken fingers, some fries, and even some pork. Unfortunately, that wasn't what he'd usually have.

"What's up dude?" Rex asked, "You've barely touched your food, and you're gonna need the energy since you're battling in the next half, so what's the matter?"

"GAAAAAAAHHHH!" Naruto screamed, surprising the evo, along with Ben and Hinata who were also among them.

"Dude!" Ben shouted.

"It's always chicken, pork, or some kind of meat, but why isn't there any ramen?!" Naruto asked angrily.

"Ch-Cheer up Naruto…" Hinata said, "I'm sure Rex and Ben don't have what they usually like to eat here either…"

"Oh yeah?" Naruto said pointing at Ben. The alien hero was slurping down a smoothie, while his plate still had a ton of fries covered in chili.

"What?" he asked as he noticed everyone at the table stare at him. Meanwhile, Ash, Cilan, and Iris were all sitting with Tsubasa, Bianca, and Stephan as they were discussing the remaining battles of the fourth round.

"Let's see, the only ones who haven't battled yet are Georgia, Gingka, and Naruto…" Cilan noted.

"Not to mention there's also that Ryuga guy too," Stephan mentioned.

"Stephen's right, Ryuga hasn't battled yet either," Ash said, making Stephan sigh at the mispronunciation of his name.

"How strong is this Ryuga anyway?" Bianca asked.

"He's very strong," Tsubasa replied, "His Accelgor is probably one of the fastest Pokémon I've ever seen."

"Yeah, and he also uses a Carracosta too," Iris mentioned.

"Did you say a Carracosta?!" Tsubasa asked in surprise.

"Yeah…" Ash said, "When we visited Twist Mountain, we saw Ryuga there using his Carracosta."

"Pika…" Pikachu said with a shiver.

"It's strong, huh?" Stephan asked.

"It's beyond powerful, and quite rare to see a trainer using an ancient Pokémon such as a Carracosta," Cilan added.

"We can't say that for sure until he actually see him battle though, right?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Iris said.

"Axew Axew!" Axew called out, pointing down to the doorway as Gingka and Masamune entered the mess hall, heading for the buffet table quickly.

"Glad to see that Masamune's still feeling okay," Stephan said as he noticed that Masamune looked excited to eat.

"Definitely," Tsubasa added, "Looks like Gingka was able to talk to him."

"So, if Gingka's going to battle in the next four match ups, then who might he be facing?" Bianca asked.

"Gingka has a one in four chance to face someone from the Shinobi 16," Cilan noted, "Yet, who's left from that group for Gingka to face?"

"Let's see…" Ash pondered, "There was that guy with the weird looking sunglasses and the moustache…"

"There was that one guy with all the purplish-red face paint…" Iris noted.

"There's also that girl with the ponytails or whatever…" Stephan added.

"Oh! And there's also the one whose eyes look like Hinata's," Cilan added.

"So, any ideas on what they're like?" Bianca asked. Everyone began to ponder for a second and they all came to the same conclusion.

"No…" they all said simultaneously. Bianca sighed, and just went back to eating her lunch.

"Hey, you guys!" Gingka called out as he and Masamune walked over with their trays of food.

"Hey, Gingka, Masamune, what's up?" Ash asked.

"Not much, just getting some good energy for the rest of today's battles!" he said excitedly as he sat down next to Ash.

"So Masamune, how's Gurdurr doing?" Stephan asked.

"He's just fine," Masamune said, taking a bite out of the sandwich he got, "He just needs rest right now though."

"That's good to hear," Ash said.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said happily as well. Just then, the Mouse Pokémon's ears twitched upward. "Pi?" he asked himself, but then realized what was up as he saw a certain person come down the hall.

"What's up Pikachu?" Ash asked as he noticed the electric began to hide behind his head. He then turned to notice Ryuga walking towards them.

"Oh boy…" Masamune said as he began to sweat a little. Ryuga then stopped at the group's table, glancing menacingly at Gingka, who glanced back with a serious look in his eyes.

"Heh," Ryuga said with a smirk, "Make sure not to lose too early, because I want the pleasure of facing you myself as trainer," he said, walking off.

"Man, you were right when you said that guy was something else," Stephan said, "He was giving me a creepy feeling for sure…"

"Yeah, I know…" Iris said.

"Axew…" Axew said, shivering in fear.

"Wow, that sounded so different…" Tsubasa said.

"That's because I'm gonna have to face Ryuga as a Pokémon Trainer, not a beyblader," Gingka replied. Everyone stared at Gingka for a second before smiling brightly. Ash then grabbed his cap off of the table.

"Okay, let's get back to the stadium!" he called out, pumping his fist into the air.

X

"Welcome back everybody!" Freddy O'Martin boomed through the loudspeakers, "Are you ready to see the climatic finish to our first round battles?" he asked, making the crowd cheer quite immensely.

"We are now down to four final battles," Don George began to explain, "Currently, the Shinobi 16 have the lead with 7 wins, while the Galaxy Trainers only have 5."

"But the battles have only just begun," Brycen mentioned.

"Indeed!" Freddy echoed through the microphone, "We'll see if the Galaxy Trainers can still hold their own as our remaining four battles begin!"

"Man, I can't wait to see to I'm up against!" Kankuro exclaimed, "After seeing Gaara battle, I figure I deserve some time to shine."

"You and me both," Temari agreed, "I'm really looking forward to battling."

"Yo yo yo!" Killer Bee shouted in the air, "The final battles of today may have just begun, but in the end, I'll have won!" he rapped.

"Okay…" Kankuro and Temari said, backing away from Killer Bee.

"As long as I can win this battle, I don't care who else gets into the second round," Neji said confidently.

"You sound quite sure of yourself Neji," Lee noted.

"I would like to see Lady Hinata's progress as a Pokémon Trainer, so I will get into the second round," Neji replied.

"Of course, our opponents are definitely something to take into account," Sakura added.

"That's right," Shikamaru said, "Naruto still hasn't battled yet, and so he is likely to face at least one of you."

"Yeah," Kankuro agreed, "There's also those three others that look pretty tough too."

"We'll just have to our best," Temari said, "After all, we always do our best back in our villages with missions."

"And doing our best makes us better than the rest, yeah!" Bee rapped again.

"Seriously dude, chill out already…" Kankuro said, sweat dropping. Meanwhile everyone else on the Galaxy Trainers' side began wishing each other luck for the next round.

"All right, best of luck out there Gingka," Tsubasa said, "I can't wait to see how much you've progressed as a trainer."

"I'll be sure to leave quite an impression!" Gingka said with a thumbs-up.

"Hey Iris," Georgia said, getting the Dragon trainer's attention, "Watch and learn how a real Dragon Buster battles out there, and then I'll wipe the floor with you later!" she taunted.

"You might wanna save that line for after you win your battle…" Iris said with a sigh.

"Ugh…" Naruto moaned as he sat down.

"S-Something wrong Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"I've got a pretty good idea what is wrong with him…" Rex said as he noticed Naruto wasn't looking sick, but was just sulking.

"Some ramen would be nice once in a while…" the blonde boy said as he yawned.

"Hey, you better be ready to go, 'cause you might be up first," Ben said as he looked at the giant board behind Freddy, Don, and Brycen. The board showed the remaining eight trainers' cards in the middle of three sections. The section on the left had the Galaxy Trainers' winners of the first round, while the left had the winners of the Shinobi 16.

"Now, let's see what our second half of the second day of round one will bring as the random shuffle selects our next battle!" O'Martin shouted as the cards in the middle section began to flip and shuffle around. Everyone watched with anticipation as two cards made their way to the center of the screen. The cards flipped over, revealing the 13th match up.

"It looks like Kankuro will be facing Naruto next!" Don George boomed through the microphone.

"Looks it's my lucky day!" Kankuro said as he cracked his knuckles, "I can't wait to take Naruto down right away!"

"Don't get too overconfident," Gaara said, "This is Naruto we're talking about."

"Yeah, I know," Kankuro said as he jumped over the railing.

"Oh boy, Naruto had to be up right away, didn't he?" Rex said, face palming.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Ben asked.

"Huh?" Rex asked as he turned to see that Naruto was no longer sitting at his place on the bench, "Wait, where did he go?"

"Hey, you guys!" Naruto called out. Ben and Rex turned to see Naruto standing at his position on the battlefield, which had changed to a grass environment.

"L-Looks like Naruto is ready to go I guess…" Hinata said with a smile. Ben and Rex sweat dropped at Naruto's sudden change in mood.

"All right folks, here we have the puppet master battler, Kankuro against the ace ninja trainer, Naruto!" Freddy introduced.

"Introductions aside, let's see how these two will end up battling," Don said.

"All right, ready, set, begin!" the referee shouted as he swung his arm down.

"Okay Durant, let's hit it!" Kankuro exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball into the air. The ball opened, with the light from it forming into the Iron Ant Pokémon, Durant.

"Durant Ant!" he shouted, snapping his pincers together. Gingka then took out his Pokédex to scan the Bug and Steel type.

"_Durant: The Iron Ant Pokémon._ _Durant dig nests in mountains. They build their complicated, interconnected tunnels into mazes,_" the Pokédex stated.

"Okay then!" Naruto said, enlarging a Poké Ball, "Sigilyph, go!" he exclaimed, throwing the ball. The light from it then began to form into the Aviation Pokémon, Sigilyph.

"Sigilyph," he hummed as he floated in the air. Gingka then took his time to scan Sigilyph as well.

"_Sigilyph: The Aviation Pokémon. The guardians of an ancient city, Sigilyph always fly the same route while keeping watch for invaders,_" the Pokédex stated.

"Let's see, with Sigilyph being a Flying and Psychic type, and Durant being a Bug and Steel type, this battle looks like it'll be dead even!" Don George noted.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Kankuro with a grin, "All right, Durant, you ready?" he asked his Pokémon.

"Dur Durant Ant!" the Iron Ant Pokémon replied.

"Sigilyph, Air Slash, go!" Naruto ordered. Sigilyph's wings became covered in a bright white light as he swung them downwards, launching shuriken-like discs of air directly for Durant.

"Dodge it with Dig!" Kankuro called out. Durant reacted quickly and dug his way underground before the discs could strike him.

"Dang it!" Naruto said as he searched the ground for any sign of the ant Pokémon.

"Well, it looks like Durant has easily avoided Sigilyph's Air Slash!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Now use Bug Bite!" Kankuro commanded. Durant then popped out of the earth below Sigilyph, with his pincers glowing a bright white, about to bite down onto Sigilyph's bottom wing.

"Not so fast!" Naruto exclaimed, "Use Reflect!" he called out. Suddenly, white glowing spheres began orbiting Sigilyph, and then merged with Sigilyph, forming a rainbow colored aura all over him before Durant struck.

"Well, that certainly was an effective tactic for Sigilyph!" Freddy noted.

"Reflect halves the damage from physical attacks, so that was a smart move to call out, especially when in a situation like this," Don said as well.

"Now, shake him off!" Naruto called out. Sigilyph then flew all over the arena, until Durant finally let go, slamming into the ground quite hard.

"Durant, are you okay?!" Kankuro asked frantically.

"Durant…" he moaned as he stood up on his iron legs.

"All right, Iron Head!" Kankuro ordered. The top of Durant's head became coated in steel as he lunged upwards at Sigilyph. He struck him, but it didn't seem to have a lasting effect as Sigilyph stayed floating in the air.

"Heh," Naruto said, "You should know that physical attacks like that won't do much at this rate," he gloated.

"Well as long as we keep hammering away, we're sure to get some kind of result," Kankuro added, "Iron Head, again!" he ordered Durant lunged into the air again, with his head coated in steel, about to strike Sigilyph.

"Sigilyph, Psybeam!" Naruto commanded. Before Durant could attack, the eye upon Sigilyph's head fired a rainbow-like beam of energy that hit the Iron Ant Pokémon back down to the ground.

"Durant…" he growled as he stood back up.

"Now, Air Slash!" Naruto ordered. Sigilyph's wings glowed a bright white as he folded them inwards, and swung them down, launching more shuriken-like slashes of air towards Durant.

"Apparently you've forgotten how we've dodged that before!" Kankuro noted while grinning, "Dig!" Durant dug his way underground again, avoiding the Air Slash.

"Durant has once again shown a speedy getaway as he has avoided Sigilyph's attack!" Freddy boomed.

"Avoiding Sigilyph's attacks like that is quite effective, but what is Kankuro aiming for by doing that?" Cilan asked, putting a finger to his chin.

"Maybe he's going for another attack?" Stephan suggested.

"That may be so, but with Sigilyph's Reflect, I don't see how Kankuro could finish the battle with an Iron Head or a Bug Bite…" Tsubasa noted.

"So, do you think he has another move?" Bianca asked.

"It may look that way," Iris said. Meanwhile, Durant was still nowhere to be seen as Naruto looked around at the ground of the field. '_I don't get it! What the heck is Kankuro even going for here?!_' he screamed inside his head.

"All right, come out and end this battle with Guillotine!" Kankuro ordered. Durant suddenly leaped out of the ground, with his pincers looking much larger, with a grayish-white glow to them.

"That's what Kankuro was going for!" Cilan exclaimed, "Even with Reflect, Guillotine is sure to finish off Sigilyph!" But Naruto was smiling on the field.

"Huh?" Hinata said.

"What's the matter Hinata?" Rex asked.

"I-I thought I just saw Naruto smile for a second…" she replied.

"Sigilyph, knock him back with Ice Beam!" Naruto called out. Just then a bright blue sphere formed in front of the Aviation Pokémon's eye, which fired several zigzag lines at Durant, hitting him back onto the grass.

"What quick thinking from Naruto!" Freddy shouted as mist shrouded the crater left by Durant.

"I gotta admit, that was clever," Kankuro complimented, "But still, Ice Beam's not gonna do a thing to Durant." But when the mist cleared, Kankuro gasped as he saw that his Pokémon had been frozen solid.

"Hah!" Naruto laughed, "How's that?"

"Nice one Naruto!" Ben cheered from the sidelines.

"Wow…" Hinata said smiling.

"Now use Psybeam!" Naruto ordered. Sigilyph's eye launched another rainbow colored beam that shattered the ice encasing Durant, sending the Iron Ant Pokémon through the air.

"Quick Durant, find your footing before-!"

"Too late!" Naruto exclaimed, cutting Kankuro off, "Air Slash!" The Aviation Pokémon once again launched his slashes of air, only this time they struck Durant fiercely, sending him crashing into the ground. When the smoke and dust cleared, Durant was lying in the grass, his eyes all swirled up.

"Aw nuts…" Kankuro sighed as he realized the battle was over.

"Durant is unable to battle, Sigilyph wins, and therefore the victor is Naruto!" the referee announced, making the crowd in the stadium cheer loudly as Kankuro's card on the board was erased, leaving Naruto's card to be depicted as the winner.

"All right Sigilyph!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped up happily.

"Sigilyph!" the Aviation Pokémon replied happily. Just then, Kankuro walked over as he finished returning Durant to his respective Poké Ball.

"Naruto!" he called out, getting his attention, "Great battle out there, and you really caught me by surprise with that Ice Beam."

"Hey, you did good too you know!" Naruto said, reaching his hand out for a handshake, which Kankuro did take.

"Thanks dude, and best of luck in the next round!" Kankuro said.

"What an amazing start to these afternoon battles!" Freddy boomed into the microphone, "It looks like the Galaxy Trainers aren't out of the race just yet!"

"Naruto definitely showed a surprising amount of strategy, despite the position he was placed in at times," Brycen added.

"All righty then, let's get ready for 14th first round match up of the Club Battle Ninja Tournament!" Don George boomed into the microphone.

"Th-That was great out there N-Naruto…" Hinata stuttered.

"Thanks Hinata," Naruto replied, "Besides, I can't fall behind you when you had such an awesome battle with Sakura!" Hinata blushed a bright red upon his compliment.

"Hey, they're shuffling the match cards again!" Stephan shouted. The large board was shuffling the remaining six cards until two made their way to the center of the screen. They both flipped over, and the match up surprised everyone.

"Temari will be facing off against Ryuga!" Freddy boomed excitedly. Gingka looked around to see Ryuga step onto the field, making his way to his position as the field was changing again into a rocky land environment.

"Ryuga's battling…" Masamune said nervously. Gingka looked on the battlefield seriously as he remembered that Ryuga's Accelgor had stood his own ground against the legendary Tornadus and Thundurus back at Milos Island. '_I hope this fight doesn't turn out too badly for that girl…_' he thought as he gritted his teeth.

X

"All right folks, as our two trainers take their positions, let's introduce them!" O'Martin boomed into the microphone.

"First off we have the mistress of the wind, Temari!" Don George introduced.

"And her opponent, the fearsome Dragon Master, Ryuga!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Did he just say Dragon Master?!" Iris and Georgia shouted simultaneously. The Dragon Buster then shoved Iris out of her way, keeping her eyes on the battlefield.

"If I get the chance to battle an actual Dragon Master rather than some wannabe, I can prove that I'm the ultimate Dragon Buster!" Georgia gloated loudly.

"Hey!" Iris shouted back, "I'm standing right here you know!"

"Naruto, do you have any ideas on what Temari would use for a Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"I would think it would probably be a flying type, considering her relation with wind, I guess," Naruto replied.

"All right, you may begin when ready!" the referee announced, swinging his arm down.

"All right, Braviary let's go!" Temari exclaimed as she tossed a Poké Ball into the air. It popped open, with the bright blue and white light forming into the Valiant Pokémon, Braviary.

"Brav!" he shouted into the air, spreading out his large wings.

"So it's Braviary?" Tsubasa said, crossing his arms.

"I guess that's what would be what's best for her," Naruto said. Ryuga was not even fazed by Temari's choice of Pokémon as he simply took out his own Poké Ball.

"Carracosta, go," he said, flinging the ball onto the field. It popped open, and the light from it formed into the Prototurtle Pokémon, Carracosta.

"CARRAAAAAA!" he screamed into the air.

"Come on!" Georgia screamed, "If you're supposed to be a Dragon Master, why not use a Dragon type?!" Ryuga then shot the Dragon Buster a sharp glare, which she noticed, making her step back a bit.

"Wow!" Freddy exclaimed, "Carracosta is quite a unique Pokémon to be battling before our very own eyes today!" Gingka took out his Pokédex to scan the Prototurtle Pokémon.

"_Carracosta, the Prototurtle Pokémon and the evolved form of Tirtouga. Living in the sea and on land, Carracosta has incredibly strong jaws and is capable of destroying a giant boulder with one powerful slap,_" the Pokédex stated.

"When concerning type advantage, Carracosta is a Water and Rock type over Braviary, who's a Normal and Flying type," Don George explained.

"Still this battle could go the other way if Temari has a strategy for dealing with Rock types such as Carracosta," Brycen added. However, no moves were being made as the two Pokémon looked at each other, waiting for a command. Ryuga's arms were crossed, and his eyes closed as he waited for Temari to strike first. '_Well there's no point in waiting for an invitation to attack, but why isn't he attacking first?_' Temari asked herself.

"All right, use Wing Attack!" she ordered.

"Brav!" the Valiant Pokémon replied as his wings began to shine a bright white as he soared towards Carracosta.

"Block it," Ryuga said. Carracosta then crossed his flippers, defending himself as Braviary attacked, which practically did nothing.

"Okay then, use Air Slash!" Temari commanded. Braviary's wings still showed a bright white glow as he folded them inwards, and then spread them out again, firing dozens of shuriken-like discs of air towards Carracosta.

"Knock it away," Ryuga said, sounding somewhat annoyed. Carracosta's flippers then swung downward, dispersing the Air Slash with just one mighty slap.

"W-What?!" Temari exclaimed in surprise.

"B-Braviary?!" Braviary also asked. Neither of them were aware of how powerful Carracosta actually was, and were both amazed by how strong he could be at this point.

"Wow! What a defense from Carracosta!" Freddy boomed.

"Whoa, Temari's already up against the wall here, and the other guy hasn't even called out a single move!" Kankuro said.

"Whoever this guy is, it's best we watch out for him in the upcoming rounds," Gaara said.

"Hey!" Kankuro shouted, "Are you saying Temari won't win?! I know she will! She has to!" Gaara said nothing and continued to observe the battle.

"Shadow Claw!" Temari ordered. Braviary's talons then became covered with a dark aura that resembled claws as he swooped down, ready to strike.

"Block it," Ryuga said. Carracosta was quick to react as used his flippers skillfully, knocking away Braviary's claws before he could land a clean hit. '_Darn it!_' Temari screamed in her head, '_I wanted to save this move to finish the battle so there wouldn't be any big risk, but now I've got no choice!_'

"Braviary, Superpower!" Temari ordered. Braviary's body then was surrounded by a blue outline as he flew back into the air.

"Brav!" he screamed to Temari, indicating he was ready.

"All right, let him have it!" she called out. Braviary then swooped down straight for Carracosta again, his talons ready to attack. The Valiant Pokémon collided with the Prototurtle Pokémon, sending dust and smoke all across the field. '_Yes! Did we get him this time?_' Temari asked herself as the dust and smoke cleared.

"Nice try," Ryuga said from across the field, getting Temari's attention, "But it's going to take a lot more than a surprise Superpower to even faze Carracosta." Just then, the dust cleared to reveal that Carracosta had once again blocked Braviary's attack with his flippers, smirking menacingly.

"What?! No way!" Temari exclaimed.

"Shell Smash!" Ryuga called out. All of a sudden, Carracosta's body began to glow a bright white as blue lines that resembled cracks began appearing all over his glowing body. The white light shattered off of Carracosta, and the force knocked Braviary back into the air, but he found his grip and still soared gracefully.

"Phew…" Temari said, "That was close…"

"Aqua Jet!" Ryuga ordered. Carracosta's body glowed a bright blue as water began to surround his entire body. He then rocketed upwards, hitting Braviary right in the chest.

"Oh no!" Temari exclaimed.

"Smack Down!" Ryuga commanded. The water surrounding Carracosta dispersed as an orange-brownish sphere formed in front of his mouth, shooting it downwards, striking Braviary in the back, sending the Valiant Pokémon crashing into the ground.

"Incredible!" Don George exclaimed, "Carracosta isn't letting up for a second when it comes to attacking!"

"Braviary!" Temari exclaimed.

"B-Brav…" he moaned as he tried to get up. Carracosta then landed right behind him, waiting for his final command.

"Quick Braviary, fly away!" Temari called out. Braviary flapped his wings, but even as the wind was at his back, he couldn't fly.

"Smack Down prevents Pokémon from flying away when it hits," Ryuga explained, "This battle is as good as over."

"Grrr… Braviary use Air-!"

"Rock Slide!" Ryuga ordered, cutting off Temari command. Carracosta glowed in a grayish-white aura as rocks came tumbling down on Braviary from seemingly nowhere. Dust and smoke filled the air as the field became covered.

"Whoa!" Kankuro exclaimed, grabbing onto the railing. The dust cleared the field, with Carracosta standing over a fainted Braviary, who's eyes were all swirled up.

"Braviary is unable to battle, Carracosta wins, and the victor is Ryuga!" the referee announced. Temari's card vanished from the screen as the "WINNER" sign was placed under Ryuga's card.

"Whoa…" Iris said, "That was unbelievable…"

"What a strong and powerful flavor Ryuga shows…" Cilan noted, "It may be so that he is a fearsome Dragon Master…"

"I'll be the judge of that when he actually uses a Dragon type," Georgia said, crossing her arms. Ryuga had returned Carracosta and was walking back to the Galaxy Trainers' side to be greeted by his teammates.

"Hey Ryuga!" Ash called out, "That was an amazing battle out there!" Ryuga simply ignored the capped trainer and pushed him out of the way as he left the stadium.

"Ryuga?" Gingka said as he saw the feared beyblader depart.

"Jeez, what's his deal?" Stephan asked.

"That's just Ryuga's way of doing things," Gingka replied. Meanwhile, Trip had also seen the battle, and was amazed by Ryuga's strength. '_Now there's a trainer that'll be worth battling!_' he thought to himself.

"All right then folks, let's get onto the next match up!" Freddy announced as the board began shuffling the last 4 cards.

"At this rate, there's a fifty-fifty chance that either Georgia or Gingka will go up against Bee or Neji," Ben noted, "And those two might be tough opponents…"

"We'll just have to wait and see," Naruto said as he looked at the board. Two cards made their way to the center of the screen and flipped over to reveal the 15th match up of the first round.

"Killer Bee will be facing Georgia!" Don George announced.

"About time I got called up to battle!" Georgia exclaimed excitedly.

"Aw yeah!" Bee shouted, "It's my time to shine, and everything will be just fine~!"

"Well then, get going," Kakashi said ushering him over the railing. The field had once again been changed into the ice field from Ash's battle yesterday.

"Folks, let's introduce our two trainers!" Freddy announced, "First we have the fearsome Dragon Buster, Georgia!"

"Along with her opponent, the rap master of Pokémon battling, Killer Bee!" Don George introduced.

"Rap master?" Ash asked.

"Octopops usually raps most of the time, so I guess that's why he's called the rap master," Naruto said, "But his raps can get annoying sometimes…"

"All right, here we go Georgia!" Gingka cheered from the sidelines.

"Why are you cheering for Georgia?" Iris asked.

"Hey, she may be your rival, but she's also my friend too!" Gingka replied.

"All right, ready, set, begin!" the referee exclaimed as he swung his arm down.

"Bisharp, battle time!" Georgia exclaimed, throwing a Poké Ball. It opened, and the light from formed into the Sword Blade Pokémon Bisharp.

"Sharp Bisharp!" she said, extending her blades.

"Yo yo Jellicent!" Bee shouted, "Show this girl how much training we've spent!" he rapped as he threw his own Poké Ball into the air, which opened and the light from it formed into the Floating Pokémon Jellicent.

"Jelli!" he exclaimed, floating above the ice. Ash took out his Pokédex to scan both Pokémon.

"_Jellicent, the Floating Pokémon and the evolved form of Frillish. Using life energy for food, Jellicent swims by absorbing seawater, then expelling it,_" the Pokédex stated, and then began to scan Bisharp.

"_Bisharp: The Sword Blade Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pawniard. This pitiless Pokémon commands a group of Pawniard to hound prey into immobility. Bisharp then moves in to finish the prey off,_" the Pokédex stated.

"Jellicent is a Water and Ghost type, while Bisharp is a Dark and Steel type, which makes Bisharp have the type advantage here," Don George noted.

"Still, let's see how these two battle on my famous ice field," Brycen added.

"You said it Brycen!" Freddy exclaimed, "Let's get this battle started!"

"All right, time for a quick finish!" Georgia exclaimed, "Guillotine, let's go!"

"Sharp!" the Sword Blade Pokémon replied as her blades glowed a whitish gray while they extended. She then jumped forward ready to attack Jellicent. However, Bisharp did nothing more than phase right through Jellicent as she skidded to a halt on the slippery ice.

"What?!" Georgia exclaimed, in disbelief that Bisharp's signature move was rendered useless.

"Georgia, you kid!" Iris shouted from the sidelines, "Normal type moves don't work on Ghost types!"

"Hey!" Georgia shouted back, "Don't tell me how to battle!"

"Now here's an attack that's sure not to miss, Jellicent, use Will-O-Wisp!" Bee rapped. Several blue flames orbited around Jellicent, who then launched them at Bisharp.

"Bisharp, dodge it and use Iron Head!" Georgia called out. The Sword Blade Pokémon then jumped off the ice, avoiding the blue flames, and then the blade upon her head became coated in steel as she began to dive down towards Jellicent. She struck him fiercely, sending the Floating Pokémon crashing into the ice, leaving mist to spread around the field.

"Nice one Georgia!" Gingka cheered. However, all of a sudden, Bisharp came out of the mist with a dark looking aura surrounding him.

"Bisharp, what's wrong?" Georgia asked.

"Bisharp seems to have hit Jellicent right on the mark, but at a terrible cost!" Freddy boomed through the microphone.

"Since Jellicent's ability is Cursed Body, when a Pokémon attacks him with a move, that move is disabled for the rest of the battle," Don George explained.

"Oh great…" Georgia sighed.

"Come on Georgia, don't give in now!" Gingka cheered.

"Yeah Georgia, let's go!" Ash cheered as well.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

"Gingka…" Georgia said to herself as a small blush came across her face, "He's right, we're not done yet!"

"Bisharp!" Bisharp said as she was still able to continue.

"Hey, hey," Bee said, "I like how you're not down in the dumps, so let's see if you can handle Jellicent's Hydro Pump!" Jellicent then launched a huge stream of water from the front of his face, headed directly for Bisharp.

"Bisharp, Metal Sound!" Georgia called out. Bisharp's forearm blades became coated in steel as she rubbed them together, creating a piercing sound wave that not only dispersed the Hydro Pump, but also made Jellicent flinch as he tried to endure the sound.

"Whoa, awesome!" Gingka exclaimed.

"Bisharp is still in this battle despite having two of her moves disabled!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Now, Dark Pulse!" Georgia ordered. Bisharp then created a dark purple, spiraling aura from her hands, and fired it at Jellicent, knocking him into a block of ice.

"Oh man, she must have some kind of plan…" Bee rapped in shock.

"Come on Bee, get serious!" Sakura yelled from the sidelines.

"Right," Bee replied, sweating a little, "Jellicent let's go, show this girl how we roll!" Bee rapped again.

"Jellicent!" the Floating Pokémon replied, still ready to go.

"Dark Pulse again!" Georgia commanded.

"Look out, and use Energy Ball to knock 'em down!" Bee ordered back. Jellicent avoided the Dark Pulse and then formed a green ball of energy from his tentacles, which he then shot at Bisharp, knocking her down into the ice.

"Come on Bisharp, hang in there!" Georgia called out.

"Sharp…" the Sword Blade Pokémon groaned as she emerged from her crater.

"Now take this!" Bee exclaimed, "Use Will-O-Wisp!" Jellicent launched more blue flames at Bisharp, who couldn't avoid the attack, and was hit immediately, creating smoke around the field. When it cleared, Bisharp's entire body was glowing bright red.

"Oh no!" Georgia exclaimed.

"Oh dear folks!" Freddy exclaimed, "It looks like Bisharp has just been burned by Jellicent's Will-O-Wisp!"

"Time to see what's up next, and that will be Jellicent's Hex!" Bee rapped. Jellicent's eyes glowed a bright purple as Bisharp was surrounded by a dark aura, and was then suddenly forced by seemingly nothing, into another block of ice.

"Bisharp!" Georgia exclaimed in worry. The mist from the collision cleared to reveal the Sword Blade Pokémon lying on the ice block with her eyes in swirls.

"Bisharp is unable to battle, Jellicent wins, and the victor is Killer Bee!" the referee announced as the board cleared Georgia's card, and depicted Bee's as the winner.

"Aw yeah!" Bee yelled happily, pumping his fist in the air.

"Bisharp, return," Georgia sighed as she returned her fainted Pokémon. She then feel to her knees in depression.

"Oh man…" Ash sighed.

"Pika pi…" Pikachu said sadly.

"Well, that's what she gets for getting too confident," Iris said.

"Axew," Axew agreed. Just then, Iris noticed Gingka jump over the railing, heading towards Georgia.

"Gingka? Where are you going?" Iris asked.

"Georgia, are you okay?" Gingka asked as he ran up to the Dragon Buster. Georgia just let out a big sigh, looking extremely depressed. Suddenly, Bee came over after returning Jellicent.

"Yo Georgia," he said getting her attention, along with Gingka's, "That was some great battling, and Bisharp shows that you've got great handling!" he rapped.

"Huh?" Georgia asked, confused by Bee's rapping.

"What I'm saying is, it doesn't matter if you win of lose," Bee began to say, "No matter the result, you should always stay cool~." Georgia understood what Bee was saying and smiled, along with Gingka who was happy Bee was such a good sport. Bee then held out his fist in front of Georgia, waiting for a fist bump. The Dragon Buster gladly accepted it, bumping his fist with her own. The crowd cheered loudly as they saw both trainers stand up proudly for showing a good effort.

"Well, what a good show of sportsmanship here!" Freddy said.

"Truly an amazing battle to behold, with proud trainers through and through!" Don George exclaimed. Just then, Georgia realized something as she noticed Gingka was still out on the field.

"Gingka, aren't you up next?" she asked.

"Hey, I am!" Gingka replied as he noticed that the board had just placed the final match up of round one on there.

"G-Gingka's facing Neji…" Hinata said, "I hope he'll be okay…"

"Don't worry," Ash reassured, "I know that Gingka won't give up against anyone so easily."

"All right Gingka, let's go!" Iris and Masamune exclaimed.

"Here we go Gingka!" Tsubasa cheered. The battlefield had changed into a plain land based field with the Poké Ball symbol in the center as usual.

"Time to introduce our last two trainers of the first round!" Freddy exclaimed, "First, we have Neji, the cutting edge offensive master of the Shinobi 16!"

"And secondly, we have the trainer who relies on his spirit and will to win, Gingka!" Don George introduced.

"All right, you may begin!" the referee announced as he swung his arm down.

"Mienshao, you're up!" Neji exclaimed, hitting a Poké Ball with his palm. The ball opened, and the light from it formed into the Martial Arts Pokémon, Mienshao. Gingka took out his Pokédex upon seeing Mienshao for the first time.

"_Mienshao: The Martial Arts Pokémon, and the evolved form of Mienfoo. Using the long fur on his or her arms like whips, Mienshao launches into combo attacks that, once started, no one can stop,_" the Pokédex stated. '_If that's the case then…_' Gingka thought as he took out a Poké Ball.

"Galvantula, let it rip!" he exclaimed, throwing the ball. It opened with the light from it forming into the EleSpider Pokémon, Galvantula.

"Gal Gal!" Galvantula buzzed as he rubbed his feelers. The final battle of the first round was about to begin…

**SUMMARY TIME!**

**Gingka goes up against Neji in the final battle of the first round! Using Galvantula against Mienshao, Gingka has a special strategy to beat Mienshao! But how is dodging attacks with Agility helping his strategy…?! **

**As night falls upon Icirrus City, Naruto mysteriously goes missing overnight! Rex and Ben search tirelessly for him, but can't figure out where he went! However, Naruto shows up the next day acting like nothing had happened! Just what is going on?!**

**The second round begins, starting with double battles throughout the round! Tsubasa is placed up against Tenten, and is eager to get vengeance for Cilan using Unfezant and Whimsicott against Tenten's team of Samurott and Liepard! But as the battle rages on Tsubasa's ambition overwhelms his spirit…?!**


	5. Second Round! The Dark Power Awakens!

NOTE: Once again, no bashing or flaming of this story please. I would appreciate a lot more reviews as well. They might help me come up with new ideas!

X

"So it's Galvantula up against Mienshao!" Freddy O'Martin boomed through the loudspeakers.

"This battle looks to be in Galvantula's favor when it comes to type advantage," Don George added.

"But there's also the fact of what kind of moves each trainer will call for their Pokémon," Brycen noted, "I can predict this will be an interesting match…"

"All right then, let's get it started!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Mienshao, Hi Jump Kick!" Neji ordered.

"Shao!" the Martial Arts Pokémon replied as he jumped into the air, his right knee glowing a bright purple. '_If Mienshao misses that Hi Jump Kick, then that'll give me even more of an advantage in this battle!_' Gingka thought to himself as Mienshao came down upon Galvantula.

"Dodge it!" Gingka called out. Galvantula jumped out Mienshao's range, but the Martial Arts Pokémon was far from done for.

"Keep your balance up!" Neji shouted. Mienshao then touched the ground with his left foot, and then lunged forward, striking Galvantula with his glowing knee.

"Gal!" the EleSpider Pokémon buzzed loudly as he was forced back towards his trainer.

"Oh!" Freddy exclaimed, "It looks like Galvantula has taken the first blow!"

"Galvantula, you okay?!" Gingka asked in shock.

"Chula!" he replied, sparking angrily with electricity.

"Swift!" Neji commanded.

"Dodge it with Agility!" Gingka called out. Mienshao's mouth opened up, glowing yellow, and then he shot shuriken-like stars, straight for Galvantula. The EleSpider reacted quickly as he zoomed around the field with a blue stream of light behind him, dodging every single star as they came close to hitting him.

"Impressive," Neji complimented.

"All right, keep it up Galvantula!" Gingka exclaimed. Galvantula kept on speeding around the field, zigzagging everywhere he went.

"Amazing!" Freddy boomed, "Galvantula's speed is so impressive, I don't think anyone can keep up with him at this rate!"

"Phew…" Masamune sighed, "That was a close one!"

"Swift is highly accurate, so it makes sense that Gingka would have Galvantula use Agility to avoid it," Tsubasa noted.

"Yeah, but why is he still using it then?" Iris asked.

"Axew…" Axew said in wonder. Ash watched the battle closely, for he was really eager to see just how strong Gingka had gotten ever since he left Mistralton City. '_Do your best, Gingka!_' Ash exclaimed in his head. Meanwhile, the speedy Galvantula was beginning to confuse Mienshao, as he had no idea where the EleSpider Pokémon was at his speed.

"Don't worry Mienshao!" Neji called out, getting the Martial Arts Pokémon's attention. The young man's eyes suddenly changed as veins began to appear near them.

"Huh?" Hinata said as she noticed this.

"What's the matter Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"N-Neji's using the Byakugan!" she exclaimed.

"Byakugan?" Masamune said in confusion.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"It's sort of a trait Hinata's clan has," Ben explained, "The Byakugan allows people to see objects at far distances or even objects too fast for the human eye to see."

"So then, how's that a problem?" Masamune asked. Suddenly, Ash realized what was going on.

"Neji's using the Byakugan to find Galvantula!" he exclaimed.

"Pika?!" Pikachu yelled in surprise.

"Aura Sphere, to your left!" Neji called out. Mienshao's hands then formed a bright blue sphere of energy, and then fired it directly to his left side, exploding on contact with the ground, creating smoke. Emerging from that smoke, was a rather hurt and weakened Galvantula.

"No way!" Gingka shouted.

"All right, go Neji!" Lee shouted from the sidelines.

"Now you're done for!" Neji yelled, "Force Palm!" Mienshao jumped into the air, ready to strike with his palm.

"Not gonna happen!" Gingka yelled, "Electroweb!" All of a sudden, Galvantula launched a thread of electricity that shape-shifted into a web, electrocuting Mienshao, and sending him crashing into the ground before he could attack.

"What?!" Neji exclaimed.

"And that's not all!" Gingka shouted, "X-Scissor!" Galvantula's feelers glowed a bright blue as he crossed them together into and x, and then slammed the attack directly into the trapped Mienshao. However, the attack also cut the Electroweb that trapped the Martial Arts Pokémon in the first place, freeing him from captivity.

"Let's end this quickly!" Neji exclaimed, "Use Force Palm again!" Mienshao lunged forward, ready to hit Galvantula with his palm.

"Counter it with X-Scissor!" Gingka yelled. Galvantula's feelers shined a bright blue as he crossed them into an x, colliding with Mienshao's palm. The force from the collision canceled out both attacks, sending each Pokémon back to their respective sides.

"Aura Sphere!" Neji ordered.

"Electro Ball!" Gingka commanded. Mienshao created another blue ball of aura energy from his hands, while Galvantula was creating a ball of electricity that sparked loudly as it formed on his feelers. However, the Electro Ball was much bigger than a normal one, making Ash and Pikachu amazed.

"That Electro Ball's huge!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika…" Pikachu said in amazement.

"Fire!" both trainers yelled. Mienshao threw the Aura Sphere, as Galvantula shot the Electro Ball, sending both moves on a collision course with each other. However, the Electro Ball was shot so rapidly, the Aura Sphere dispersed as soon as it collided with the ball of electricity.

"What?!" Neji exclaimed.

"Shao?!" Mienshao shouted. The Electro Ball struck Mienshao's whole body, creating an explosion around the field.

"That was incredible!" Masamune exclaimed.

"Way to go Gingka!" Georgia cheered. The smoke then cleared to reveal a rather dazed Mienshao, lying face flat on the ground, with his eyes swirled up.

"Mienshao is unable to battle, Galvantula wins, and therefore the victor is Gingka!" the referee announced. Neji's card on the board was immediately erased, and then the "WINNER" sign was placed under Gingka's card.

"Yeah Gingka!" Ash cheered.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"That was awesome!" Iris said.

"Axew!" Axew exclaimed as well.

"So that's what Gingka was going for…" Cilan noted.

"What Cilan?" Masamune asked.

"Gingka was having Galvantula use Agility not to avoid Mienshao's attacks, but to power up Electro Ball," Tsubasa explained.

"Having a lot of speed increases the power of an Electro Ball," Cilan added. Ash and Pikachu looked on in amazement as they had just seen an incredible battle.

"Let's not fall behind Gingka, okay buddy?" Ash said to his partner.

"Pika!" the yellow mouse replied, pumping his fist.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about Neji fighting in the next round, right?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, but we've still got eight others to worry about…" Rex noted, "Not to mention, some of those guys overwhelmed our team in a couple of battles." Hinata bit her lip in worry as she feared facing a tougher opponent in the second round of tomorrow.

"Whatever the case, we should get some rest tonight," Ben said, "You coming Hinata?" he asked.

"Y-Yes!" the shy girl stuttered as she stopped thinking about tomorrow and started running for the exit.

"Hey dude," Rex said, getting Ben's attention, "Where'd Naruto go?"

"Huh?" Ben said, "I thought he just here a second ago…"

"Hey Naruto, where are you?" Rex called out as the stadium was clearing of its spectators.

"Naruto!" Ben yelled. As the stadium cleared fully, Ben and Rex stayed behind, searching every nook and cranny of the stadium and the outside of it for the blonde boy.

X

"My, my Tsubasa," Burgundy said, getting the S-Class Connoisseur's attention, "I'm sure since you're the only Connoisseur left to battle in this tournament, I'll trust that you'll show a great array of flavors in the second round. Much more than that arrogant punk, Cilan…"

"Burgundy, if you'd please let me eat…" Tsubasa sighed as he bit into a piece of his salad.

"Oh r-right!" the connoisseuse stuttered, "You'll need the energy for tomorrow, so good luck!"

"Ugh…" Tsubasa sighed. '_Still, the second round…_' Tsubasa thought as he ate, '_There are still eight trainers from the Shinobi 16 that we haven't beaten yet, and with eight Galaxy Trainers, I bet the remainder of us are at least facing one member of that team, so I might face-_'

"Tsubasa?" a voice asked, cutting Tsubasa from his thoughts. He looked up to see Cilan with a tray of food, standing right beside him.

"Oh, Cilan," Tsubasa said, "Would you like to take a seat?"

"Sure!" Cilan said, sitting down, "So, are you ready for the second round tomorrow?" he asked.

"I'm not sure…" Tsubasa admitted, "We have eight of our team members in the second round, but the Shinobi 16 have eight as well."

"So you're thinking that everyone on our team that got through to the next round is going to be facing another Shinobi 16?" Cilan asked. Tsubasa nodded in reply.

"At least… that's what I think is going to happen," Tsubasa said.

"Well, there could be a surprising match up," Cilan added, "You never know."

"Yeah…" Tsubasa said, still thinking about yesterday when Cilan lost to Tenten. Meanwhile, Ash, Masamune, Gingka, and Stephan were with Iris and Bianca, chowing down on their dinner like they were in a race.

"Jeez, you guys act like such little kids…" Iris sighed.

"Axew…" Axew agreed.

"So what?" Ash said in between bites of food, "We all need the energy for the second round tomorrow!"

"But you don't always have to eat so fast…" Bianca said. The boys just continued eating quickly while the two girls sighed and ate quite slowly.

"U-Um, may I sit here please?" a voice asked, getting Iris' attention. She turned to see Hinata standing over her with a tray with salad and juice.

"Sure you can Hinata!" Iris said, scooting over to let Hinata sit down.

"Say, don't you usually sit with Naruto, Ben, and Rex?" Bianca asked, "Where'd they go?"

"I-I'm not sure…" Hinata replied, "I'm a little worried…"

"Hey, if I know those guys, then I'm sure they're just fine!" Ash said, taking another bite of meat.

"St-Still, we should probably look for them later…" Hinata said.

"In the meantime, let's think up a strategy for tomorrow's matches!" Iris said.

"Good idea!" Gingka replied, "We should also think about the chance if we have to face one of our own team members…"

"Yeah," Iris agreed, "I bet it won't be too long before that happens…"

"I wouldn't mind if it happened though," a voice said. Everyone turned from eating or talking to see Trip leaning against the wall, listening in on the conversation.

"Trip?" Ash said while chewing his food.

"If I do end up facing one of you guys, then I would like to face that Ryuga guy," Trip admitted. Everyone gasped upon hearing that.

"Why in the world would wanna face Ryuga?!" Gingka asked in shock.

"Because I can tell that guy is a lot stronger than those Shinobi guys, so he'd be a worthy opponent for me," Trip replied, walking off.

"Careful what you wish for…" Stephan said as Trip turned a corner.

"So who do you think you'll be up against Hinata?" Gingka asked, trying to get away from thinking about Trip's statement.

"I-It's hard to say really…" she mumbled. The group continued talking with each other for quite a while as they finished their dinner.

"Ah…" Ash groaned, "I'm stuffed…"

"Me too…" Gingka, Masamune, and Stephan said simultaneously.

"Pika…" Pikachu groaned before letting out a small burp.

"You're all such little kids for filling your stomachs like that…" Iris sighed.

"Gingka!" a voice called out. Iris turned her head to see Georgia walking towards their table.

"Oh, Georgia…" Iris sighed in annoyance as she walked up.

"That was a great battle you had!" Georgia said to Gingka, "I'm sure no one will stand in your way for the second round either!"

"Thanks Georgia," Gingka said, patting his stomach, "I hope that everyone on our team gets into the next round!"

"Wouldn't that mean everyone would have to battle each other at some point?" Iris asked sarcastically.

"That's what makes it even more fun!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled.

"Ugh… Little kids like always…" Iris sighed.

"Axew…" Axew agreed. The group then separated again as they finally finished, going back into their respective rooms.

"Man…" Ash sighed, lying down on his bed, "What a long day…"

"It sure was…" Iris agreed, "I don't even know what's gonna happen tomorrow for the next round…"

"We'll just have to wait and see," Cilan said, sipping a cup of tea.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said, jumping on the bed excitedly.

"Ax Axew!" Axew exclaimed, jumping on the bed along with his pal.

"Well, I guess you guys are energized for tomorrow, right?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" "Ax!" Both Pokémon replied happily.

"Well, that's good," Iris said, "I might need to use you tomorrow Axew."

"Axew Ax!" Axew said excitedly. Suddenly there was a knocking at the door.

"Huh?" Cilan said.

"Who could that be?" Ash asked as he went up to the door. He then turned the knob slowly, and opened the door to see a rather worried-looking Hinata.

"Hinata?" Cilan asked as he saw her at the door.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked as he jumped down from the bed, and then jumping upon Ash's shoulder.

"What's the matter?" Ash asked.

"I…" Hinata began to say; "I can't find Ben, Rex, or Naruto anywhere!" she admitted. Everyone in the room except for Hinata gasped.

"Have you looked everywhere?" Iris asked as she ran up to Hinata.

"Mm-hm…" Hinata sighed with a nod.

"We should go look around too!" Ash said with a serious look on his face, "Come on!" he called out as he and Pikachu ran out of the room.

"Wait for us, Ash!" Iris shouted, chasing after the aspiring Pokémon trainer, "Jeez, how come you're such a kid…" she sighed.

"Let's go!" Cilan said, walking out of the room with Hinata following behind.

X

"So all of them are missing?!" Gingka asked.

"Yeah…" Hinata said.

"You know, I did see both Ben and Rex looking around the stadium before everyone left after Gingka's match was over," Tsubasa noted, "Maybe they were trying to find Naruto?"

"So does that mean we've gotta find them?" Masamune asked, moaning a little.

"Come on Masamune, they're our friends!" Gingka yelled, making his beyblade rival cringe.

"Okay, okay!" he said, "Sorry about that. Anyways, we'll help look too!" Masamune said. As soon the huge group had decided on the search, the team of Ash, Cilan, and Tsubasa searched the cafeteria, while the team of Iris and Masamune looked around outside, but they were both unsuccessful in finding any of the three teens.

"Okay, thanks anyway!" Gingka said to Nurse Joy as he and Hinata were still trying to search for the others.

"We're not having any luck…" Hinata sighed.

"We will at some point!" Gingka said confidently, "Don't you worry, we'll find them!" Hinata smiled on Gingka's optimistic outlook on the situation, but then realized something that got her thinking.

"Hey Gingka," Hinata said as they walked through the halls, "Back in Mistralton City, what happened to you?" The flaming-haired boy's cheeks became instantly red on the mention of that event.

"Uh… wh-what do you mean?" Gingka asked looking away to hide his blush.

"Well, I just thought it was strange, since I've never seen you act that way before," Hinata admitted, "You kind of reminded me of myself when Naruto had sometimes been too close to me…" The moment Hinata said that, Gingka was completely embarrassed, and could not hide his face, as it was now completely red.

"Um… Hi-Hinata…" Gingka stuttered. Recognizing that stuttering, she gasped in surprise.

"D-Don't tell me that…!" Hinata was about to say, but was cut off when a certain aroma filled the air around them. Gingka sniffed, and picked it up too.

"What's that smell?" he asked. He then looked further down the hall to see an intersection where there was something small sitting in the middle of it.

"What is that?" Hinata said, activating her Byakugan. With it, she saw that the object sitting on the floor was cup ramen that had been already heated. "It's… ramen?" she asked in surprise.

"Huh?" Gingka asked.

"WOAAAAAHHHHHH!" A voice screamed down the hall.

"What was that?" Hinata asked, focusing her Byakugan. Both she and Gingka ran down the hall towards the scream.

"We gotcha'!" A voice said.

"Ow, get off!" Another voice yelled.

"What's going on?" Gingka asked as he turned the corner to see that Masamune was being pinned by both Rex and a large blue lizard creature. Just then Iris ran up on the other side of the incident.

"Masamune?" she asked in confusion, "What happened?"

"Iris?" Rex said, "Hold on…" the goggled evo then looked back down to see that Masamune was the one both he and the lizard were pinning.

"Would you bozos get offa' me?!" Masamune screamed.

"Guys!" A voice called out from the other end of the hall. Everyone looked up to see Ash, Pikachu, Cilan, and Tsubasa all running up.

"Masamune, what happened?" Ash asked.

"I dunno…" Masamune groaned, "I just noticed a noodle cup around here, and was gonna get it for a midnight snack, but then I started slipping on some ice as I ran over to it, and once I fell down, I got tackled by these guys…"

"Yeah, sorry about that…" the lizard apologized.

"Ben, is that you?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, it's me," he replied, getting off of Masamune, along with Rex, "I wanted to go Big Chill, but at least the Omnitrix gave me Articguana as a good substitute for this trap."

"Trap?" Iris said , a little confused.

"Axew…" Axew said with a shrug.

"For what?" Cilan asked.

"For Naruto obviously," Rex replied, "Why do you think we had the ramen cup right there?" he said, pointing to the middle of the intersection, but the cup was not there. He and Ben both gasped.

"Where'd it go?" Ben asked looking around.

"Did one of you guys take it?" Rex asked, looking at everyone else suspiciously.

"No way!" Ash said.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu added.

"Definitely wasn't me," Tsubasa said.

"I swear, I didn't take it!" Masamune pleaded.

"Why did you guys even have a trap at all?" Hinata said, walking up to Rex.

"Well…" Rex said, rubbing the back of his head, "We couldn't find Naruto in the stadium, so we decided to lure him in with ramen."

"I think it was a pretty good idea, but he didn't show up for a while." Ben said, changing back into his human form.

"Hmm…" Hinata sighed in disappointment. Ben then walked up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Hinata," he reassured her, "We'll find him at some point, I promise." Rather than look worried, she smiled, having faith in her friend.

"You've both done enough for tonight," she said, "Why don't you get some sleep?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Ben said, letting Hinata run back to the room.

"How do you do it?" Rex asked Ben as Hinata had left.

"Simple," Ben said, "You just gotta know the right words. Good night guys!" He said with a wave as he walked off.

"Hey, wait up!" Rex shouted as he ran after Ben, leaving everyone else to comprehend what just happened.

"Well, good night then!" Ash said as he was about to walk off with Cilan in tow, "Come on Iris!"

"Okay, I'm coming! Jeez…" Iris sighed.

"Axew!" the little Dragon type yelled excitedly as he jumped out of Iris' hair, running back to the room.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted, chasing after the Tusk Pokémon, racing alongside him.

"You okay Masamune?" Gingka asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Masamune said, rubbing his back.

"Then you can walk back to the room yourself," Tsubasa said, walking off, "Make sure to get plenty of rest."

"Tsubasa?" Masamune said, puzzled by his friend's behavior. '_Tsubasa, what is bothering you?_' Gingka thought as he lifted up Masamune by the arm. Meanwhile, Hinata was waiting back at the room door as Ben and Rex walked up.

"After you," Ben said politely.

"Thank you," Hinata replied, twisting the door handle.

"We already got a new door?" Rex whispered in Ben's ear.

"Shh… She doesn't realize that we had to get it replaced the other day, so don't mention it…" Ben whispered back. Once Hinata opened it, all three of them had their eyes widen. On the bed, Naruto was lying down, eating the same cup ramen that was in the hall.

"Oh hey guys!" he greeted, "What took you so long?" None of them could believe that not only was Naruto here, but he was acting like his strange departure was absolutely nothing.

"N-Naruto?" Hinata stuttered in surprise.

X

"All right guys, let's do this!" Ash shouted out into the open air as he ran towards the stadium.

"Does he ever slow down?" Iris asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Well, at least he has the energy for the second round…" Cilan said with a sweat drop.

"Hey, wait up!" A voice shouted behind Ash, making the spiky-haired trainer turn around to see Gingka running up to him.

"Gingka!" Ash said excitedly, "You ready to get to the quarterfinals after we both win today?"

"Totally!" Gingka replied.

"Pika!" Pikachu said, clenching his fist, prepped as well. Suddenly, a blue and white light popped out of Gingka's pants, and formed into Simipour.

"Simi!" she said, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Looks like Simipour really wants to battle today!" Ash noted.

"Are you sure you're up for it Simipour?" Gingka asked.

"Simi Simi!" she said with a cartwheel. Once the Geyser Pokémon had finished her acrobatics, she then blinked, looking at something going on behind Gingka.

"Uh oh…" Ash said.

"Pika…" Pikachu sighed.

"What's the matter guys?" Gingka asked, turning around to see Georgia, along with Stephan and Bianca, whom was talking with Iris.

"Simi?" Simipour asked, wondering why Ash and Pikachu seemed tired of seeing what she had seen.

"So Iris, you better not lose today, or I can't call you my rival, or an aspiring Dragon Master," Georgia told the trainer. Iris stood her ground however.

"For someone who calls herself my rival, losing in the first round just proves how much of a kid you really are," Iris said back.

"Oh yeah?!" Georgia shouted, "Well, you're also a kid, so I bet you will lose!" she yelled back. Both glared at each other intensely while Axew, Cilan, and the others tried to calm them down.

"Hey, come on you guys…" Gingka said, sweat dropping.

"This gets old really fast…" Ash sighed.

"Simi…" Simipour agreed.

"Pika?" Pikachu said as his ears perked up.

"What's up Pikachu?" Ash said, noticing the mouse Pokémon's sudden reaction. Pikachu was looking left and right, and then noticed something across from them.

"Pika?!" he exclaimed, pointing in the direction. Ash turned his head to see Naruto walking towards the stadium, with Hinata, Ben, and Rex in tow.

"Naruto?!" he exclaimed.

"Huh?" Gingka said, turning to where Ash was looking, gasping the moment he saw the blonde knucklehead from the Leaf.

"Hey guys, is something the matter?" Stephan asked as he and Cilan, walked up, away from Georgia and Iris' argument.

"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed, "We just saw Naruto walking by, on his way to the stadium!" Cilan gasped in surprise and joy.

"So they found him last night!" the connoisseur exclaimed.

"Guess so," Gingka said.

"Hold on," Stephan interrupted, "Naruto was missing?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ash said, "He kind of left without a trace yesterday. We'd been looking for him all night."

"Simi?" Simipour said, noticing something else in the distance. It was Tsubasa and Masamune, heading towards the stadium as well. However, the S-Class connoisseur had a serious look on his face as he was speed walking along the path.

"Oh, Tsubasa!" Cilan called out, "Are you prepared for your battle today?"

"Of course I am," Tsubasa said, walking past his friends.

"Tsubasa?" Gingka said, knowing something was up with his friend, "Masamune, what happened?" he asked.

"I dunno…" he admitted, "He just wanted to get to the stadium after breakfast really badly I guess…" Cilan looked onwards with Ash and Stephan as they saw Tsubasa disappear into the stadium through the entrance.

"Tsubasa…" Cilan wondered.

"_Attention trainers!" _A voice on the speakers throughout the outside of the stadium, "_Please report to the stadium immediately for today's second round battles!_"

"Let's get going everybody!" Ash exclaimed as he ran onwards.

"All right!" Stephan said, running after Ash.

"Here we go Simipour!" Gingka said, chasing after the both of them.

"Simi Simi!" she yelled, following her trainer.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled, alongside Simipour.

"Ax Axew!" Axew exclaimed, skipping along to the stadium.

"Ah!" Iris shouted, "Axew, wait a second!" she said, with Bianca and Georgia following her as well.

"Well, it looks like it's zesty battle time!" Cilan said with a snap, walking his way towards the stadium as well. Meanwhile Tsubasa was already inside the stadium, checking out the large screen, noticing Tenten's card on the board. '_You're going to regret ever crossing Cilan's path in the first place Tenten…_' Tsubasa thought as his fist was tightly clenched. At the same time, Naruto was sitting down on a bench, smiling as he was thinking of the great breakfast he had this morning.

"Well, he sure looks happy," Ben said.

"Yeah…" Rex said, "But you still must be wondering what the heck was going on?"

"I know…" Ben agreed, "Sure, Naruto does sneak off sometimes, but he never leaves us on the short end of the stick…"

"Well, it was probably nothing," Rex said. Hinata had still been concerned over Naruto's recent change in behavior, despite his craving for ramen the other day, and his attitude early on. '_Naruto… What happened?_' Hinata asked herself.

X

"Welcome back to the Club Battle Ninja Tournament everyone!" Freddy O'Martin exclaimed over the loudspeakers, "I'm your host, Freddy the Scoop, along with the Icirrus Battle Club's Don George, and Icirrus Gym Leader Brycen!"

"Glad to see that both teams are ready for some heavy battling action!" Don George said.

"True," Brycen noted, "Both their Pokémon's powers and skills are most unique and intriguing."

"You said it Brycen!" Freddy boomed, "With that folks, we'll be starting the second round in a few moments!" The whole crowd cheered immensely.

"Wow, look at all these people!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika…" Pikachu awed, looking around.

"It looks even more packed than yesterday!" Stephan exclaimed.

"No kidding," Georgia agreed.

"Ash, Gingka!" Ben called out, getting their attention.

"Oh, Ben what's up?" Gingka asked.

"We found Naruto last night," Ben said.

"Yeah, we saw you guys walking towards the stadium," Ash admitted, "How'd you find him? Did you go Wildmutt or something?"

"No, in fact…" Ben began to say until Rex jumped in.

"We found Naruto lying in the bed back in our room!" he said.

"You're kidding!" Gingka gasped.

"He also was the one who snagged the ramen cup when we weren't looking," Ben said.

"So, where was he?" Ash asked.

"Pika Pika?" Pikachu repeated, wondering where Naruto had been as well. Ben and Rex then pulled the two boys along with Pikachu into a huddle.

"We don't exactly know," Ben whispered, "He said he was just taking a tour around Icirrus City, but weren't not even sure if that's what he was doing…"

"Right now, I think it's best to let it slide until it happens again," Rex said. The others nodded in agreement, as Gingka and Ash were in disbelief over the situation.

"Hey guys, look!" Iris exclaimed pointing to the board, which had its screen divided vertically, showing off the winners of each team in the first round. The cards had just been flipped.

"All right, it looks the matches are about to begin!" Lee said, looking up at the board as he was doing one-handed pushups.

"I just hope that we don't end having to face each other this round," Sakura noted.

"It could still happen," Shikamaru mentioned, "But that would mean the Galaxy Trainers would have to battle themselves as well if that did happen." All of a sudden, Don George stood up from his seat, holding the microphone.

"Now trainers, the purpose of this tournament is to test your battling ability as trainers in different environments and different battles," Don George explained, "With that said, for this second round, all battles will be double battles!" The whole stadium was excited on this mention, and the crowd was whipped into a frenzy.

"Double battles?!" Iris exclaimed.

"Axew…" Axew said, worried.

"This is definitely a new taste in tournaments…" Cilan said, putting his hand on his chin, "What's to be expected of this?"

"One way to find out," a voice said behind them. Ash, Cilan, and Gingka turned to see Trip standing right at the entrance.

"Hey Trip!" Ash greeted. He was about to go up to his rival, until Ryuga stepped out of the shadow of the entrance, giving off a menacing presence. Ash backed away cautiously, while Trip just eyed him suspiciously.

"Hmph…" Ryuga said, walking away from them. Ash sighed in relief while Trip kept his eyes on the so-called "Dragon Master", wondering what he could really do as a trainer.

"All right, let's begin the random shuffle for our first double battle of the second round!" Don George exclaimed pointing to the screen. The cards on the board were randomly shuffling in all directions as the vertical line had disappeared. Then two cards made their way to the center of the screen.

"Here we go…" Iris said nervously. Everyone looked closely at the board as the cards were both about to flip. Tsubasa looked at them closely as he had his arms crossed. The cards both flipped, making everyone gasp on the result.

"The first match will be Tenten versus Tsubasa!" Freddy boomed through the loudspeakers.

"Looks like it's show time right off the bat!" Tenten said, jumping over the railing, going out to her position on the field.

"Good luck Tenten," Neji said.

"Yes Tenten!" Lee shouted, "Go for it!"

"Finally…" Tsubasa muttered as he cracked his knuckles.

"Oh Tsubasa!" A voice called out beside him. He turned to see Burgundy skipping toward him. "Tsubasa, I hope you show us an elegant battle as an S-Class Connoisseur that's far more tasteful than that flavorless Cil-"

"Shut up," Tsubasa interrupted.

"Excusez-moi?!" Burgundy asked, quite shocked at Tsubasa's behavior.

"Nobody wants to hear you rant on about how Cilan's a terrible connoisseur, according to you that is," Tsubasa added, "If he's such a terrible connoisseur, then why are you one?" he asked rudely, alarming Burgundy.

"Tsubasa, I…" Burgundy was about to say, but just looked down as she began to think about what she was just told. Tsubasa on the other hand, went through the gate out to the field, which had changed to a regular grass environment.

"Burgundy, are you all right?" Cilan asked, walking up to the connoisseuse.

"I-I'm fine…" she replied, "But Cilan, what's the matter with Tsubasa?" Cilan understood that Burgundy was definitely troubled by the S-Class Connoisseur's change in attitude. He seemed very angry and serious.

"So folks, our first match pits the Leaf Village's weapons mistress, Tenten," Freddy introduced, "against the S-Class Connoisseur, Tsubasa!" When Tenten heard about Tsubasa as she took her side on the field, she sighed deeply, and Tsubasa noticed.

"So you're another connoisseur?" Tenten asked, "Please tell me you aren't like that Cilan guy…"

"I can assure you I'm nothing like Cilan!" Tsubasa shouted, his eyes full of anger, "But he's the main reason I've become a connoisseur at all! The reason I've been extremely lucky to receive an S-Class ranking!" Cilan blinked in shock as he realized why Tsubasa was so infuriated.

"You inspired him to become a connoisseur?" Burgundy asked.

"Yes, but…" Cilan was about to say, but then dropped it as he kept his eyes on the field.

"That's why I'm going to make you regret ever saying those awful things to him!" Tsubasa screamed, "It's who he is! Both as a connoisseur, and a trainer!" Admittedly, Tenten was shocked by Tsubasa's outburst, and could see the rage building up in his eyes.

"Are both of you ready to begin?" The referee asked.

"Um… Yes," Tenten replied.

"Definitely!" Tsubasa said.

"Then, let the battle begin!" The referee shouted, swinging his arm down. Both trainers enlarged their Poké Balls, and were ready for battle.

"Go, Samurott and Liepard!" Tenten exclaimed, throwing both of them into the air.

"Let's do this, Unfezant and Whimsicott!" Tsubasa yelled, throwing his own as well. All the Poké Balls opened at once, and the light from each of them formed into each trainer's respective Pokémon. On Tenten's side, the lights had formed into the Formidable Pokémon, Samurott, and the Cruel Pokémon, Liepard. While Tsubasa had the Proud Pokémon, Unfezant, and the Windveiled Pokémon, Whimsicott.

"Whoa…" Ash said, taking out his Pokédex to scan Samurott.

"_Samurott: The Formidable Pokémon, and the evolved form of Dewott. In the time it takes a foe to blink, it can draw and sheathe the seamitars attached to its front legs,_" the Pokédex stated.

"So that's Oshawott's final evolved form, huh?" Ash said.

"Pika…" Pikachu said, awing how awesome Samurott looked. Just then, a light emerged from Ash's pants, forming into the Sea Otter Pokémon, Oshawott, who was in awe over Samurott as well.

"Osha…" he awed, fawning over his final evolution.

"That's gonna be you someday Oshawott!" Iris said.

"Osha Oshawott!" he said excitedly.

"Hmm…" Rex said, eyeing the battlefield.

"What's up?" Ben asked.

"Doesn't that Liepard look a little familiar to you?" Rex asked. Ben knew that Shikamaru had used a Liepard yesterday against Bianca, but was surprised that Rex even pointed it out.

"A lot of trainers use similar Pokémon throughout the tournament, so go figure I guess," Ben replied, walking off. But Rex was still observant of the Cruel Pokémon, as he thought something was being done.

"Looks like it's Samurott and Liepard versus Whimsicott and Unfezant!" Freddy boom through loudspeakers.

"Not to mention, Whimsicott, being a Grass type, has an advantage over Samurott, who's a Water type," Don George added, "What do you think Brycen?" he asked the gym leader.

"Both trainers are the first of their respective teams to make it into the second round, and both have shown incredible skills," Brycen noted, "I look forward to this match." There was silence on the battlefield as the Pokémon eyed each other closely, waiting for their orders. At last, Tenten broke the silence.

"Samurott, Hydro Pump!" she ordered. Samurott then jumped up, swinging his hands around like a circle, forming a blue spiral that launched a huge blast of water towards Unfezant and Whimsicott.

"Whimsicott, Sunny Day!" Tsubasa called out.

"Whim!" The Windveiled Pokémon replied as his curled leaves glowed a bright yellow, and then shot beams of light into the sky, which seemed to intensify the sun as the heat began beating down. All of a sudden, the Hydro Pump had gotten smaller.

"Grr…" Tenten growled as she noticed this.

"Now counter it with Air Slash!" Tsubasa ordered. Unfezant flew up into the air, his wings turning a bright white, and were folded inward, and then outward, launching several shuriken-like discs of air towards the Hydro Pump, not only dispersing it, but also were heading straight for Samurott.

"Liepard, stop them with Night Slash!" Tenten called out. The Cruel Pokémon's claws turned a dark purple as he slashed through the discs, making them explode.

"All right, Whimsicott, Solarbeam, and Unfezant, Echoed Voice!" Tsubasa commanded.

"Fezant!" "Whim!" They both replied. A glowing sphere formed upon Whimsicott's stubby little arms, while Unfezant opened his beak with a white sphere inside, ready to be used. Tenten watched closely as her opponent's Pokémon were about to make their move. '_So, must be planning to finish off Samurott first, by using Echoed Voice as a distraction, so that Samurott won't be able to dodge Whimsicott's Solarbeam! However…_' Tenten thought as she grinned.

"Liepard, use Fake Out on Unfezant!" Tenten commanded. Liepard jumped up, right in front of Unfezant, slapping his own claws together, creating a vibration that surprised, and stopped Unfezant from unleashing his move. '_By using Fake Out to stop Unfezant, Samurott can easily dodge that Solarbeam. This battle might easier than I should th-_'

"Gotcha'!" Tsubasa exclaimed, cutting off Tenten's thought. Whimsicott had just fired his Solarbeam, but instead, it was aimed at Liepard.

"He was aiming for Liepard?!" Tenten exclaimed as the Cruel Pokémon was struck with no way to dodge the attack. He fell to the ground, struggling to get up after such a powerful attack.

"And that's not all!" Tsubasa yelled, "Unfezant, Sky Attack on Samurott!" Unfezant, who had been covered by smoke from the explosion, soared down upon Samurott in a bright white light.

"Quick Samurott, Ice Beam!" Tenten called out. Samurott opened his mouth, forming a blue sphere in front of it, which fired zigzag lines directly towards the Proud Pokémon. However, Unfezant dodged those lines easily, speeding straight for the Formidable Pokémon. He hit Samurott fiercely, sending him tumbling back towards Tenten.

"Samurott, are you all right?!" Tenten asked frantically.

"Now, Energy Ball Whimsicott!" Tsubasa ordered. A green sphere of energy was then shot as Liepard, who was still recovering from the Solarbeam, and hit him as well, also sending back towards Tenten.

"Oh man…" Tenten groaned as her Pokémon were both being pummeled.

"Incredible…" Burgundy said in disbelief, "I've never seen Tsubasa attack his opponents with so much spice and backbone…"

"Nor I…" Cilan said, "But I still feel that Tsubasa is letting his hatred get the better of him…" Burgundy also wondered about that, and was concerned at how Cilan was feeling.

"If you were out there facing Tenten, and Tsubasa had lost to her, what would you do?" Burgundy asked. Cilan was taken aback from the connoisseuse's question, but thought about it as he continued to observe the battle.

"All right, go Tsubasa!" Masamune yelled.

"Take her down!" Iris cheered.

"You can do it Tsubasa!" Ash screamed.

"Pika Pika Pi!" Pikachu cheered.

"Axew Axew!" Axew yelled.

"Yeah Tsubasa!" Gingka screamed, "You can win it!" '_That's right,_' Tsubasa said to himself, '_I can win. I must win for Cilan's sake!_'

"Now let's see how you deal with this!" Tsubasa yelled, "Unfezant, Rain Dance!" he called out.

"UN!" The Proud Pokémon screeched into the air, as his body was covered by a blue aura. Suddenly, dark clouds formed overhead, and raindrops began falling from the sky.

"Rain Dance?" Kiba said, "Don't see how that's smart…"

"Water type attacks are powered up by rainy weather, so Tenten's got this match!" Ino exclaimed excitedly.

"So then, why do you think Tsubasa chose to use that move?" Kakashi asked the both of them. Back on the battlefield, Samurott and Liepard got up, ready to strike back.

"Okay, Liepard, Aerial Ace, and Samurott, Razor Shell!" Tenten ordered. Both Pokémon ran across the wet grass, ready to attack. Liepard sped up and jumped into the air, about to strike Whimsicott, while Samurott took out the seamitar on his left arm, making it glow a bright blue, ready to swing it down upon Unfezant.

"Unfezant, dodge it and use Sky Attack, and Whimsicott, use Hurricane!" Tsubasa ordered.

"Did he just say Hurricane?!" Gingka asked. Unfezant flew out of the way of Samurott's Razor Shell, and was beginning to glow in a white aura. Meanwhile, Whimsicott's leaves glowed a bright white as he created a gust of wind that blew Liepard back, and then created a huge tornado, which sucked both Liepard and Samurott into it.

"Oh no!" Tenten exclaimed. Samurott dropped his left seamitar onto the grass and was helpless alongside Liepard in the tornado.

"Now Unfezant!" Tsubasa called out, "Go!" Unfezant then flew rapidly towards the tornado, using the wind to pick up even more speed, he struck both Samurott and Liepard with ferocity, making the tornado disperse, and having both Pokémon drop to the ground in a daze.

"Wow!" Freddy O'Martin exclaimed, "Tsubasa in using the weather to his advantage as that Hurricane and Rain Dance combo, along with the extra effect of Sky Attack has surely put a heavy toll on Samurott and Liepard!"

"This battle has become very interesting to say the least," Brycen said.

"Now let's see if Tsubasa is able to deal the final blow, or will Tenten try to make a comeback!" Don George added.

"Samu…" "Li…" Both of Tenten's Pokémon groaned as they tried to get up.

"Come on you guys, we're not out of this battle yet!" Tenten called out.

"Hang in there Tenten!" Lee shouted.

"Come on, you can still do this!" Sakura yelled.

"Go Tenten!" Kiba cheered.

"It's about time we finished this!" Tsubasa yelled, "Unfezant, Air Slash!" Unfezant folded his wings as they turned white, and then spread them out, launching several discs of air towards Samurott and Liepard.

"Oh no!" Lee exclaimed.

"Samurott, quick, use Razor Shell!" Tenten called out. All of a sudden, the Formidable Pokémon began glowing in a blue aura. He then took out his right seamitar, and slashed away the Air Slash, with one strong swipe.

"What?!" Tsubasa exclaimed.

"What just happened…?!" Masamune asked in shock.

"Osha…" Oshawott awed.

"Samurott' ability is Torrent, obviously," Trip said.

"Torrent?" Georgia asked.

"It's an ability that powers up a Pokémon's Water type attacks when they're at low health," Trip explained, "It's basic stuff."

"All right Samurott, knock 'em back with a Double Razor Shell!" Tenten commanded.

"Samu!" The Formidable Pokémon replied as he picked up his left seamitar as well, and jumped towards Unfezant. Both of the seamitars glowed a bright blue as Samurott used them to strike Unfezant, sending him crashing into the ground.

"No way!" Tsubasa yelled.

"All right!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Pard!" Liepard roared as he also was back on his feet.

"Liepard, use Aerial Ace on Whimsicott!" Tenten ordered. Liepard ran towards the Windveiled Pokémon, ready to attack.

"Whimsicott, Energy Ball!" Tsubasa ordered. Whimsicott shot another green sphere of energy, which Liepard easily jumped over, and then glided into the Windveiled Pokémon, knocking him down.

"Now, jump on Unfezant!" Tenten called out. Liepard then leaped into the air as Unfezant had just taken back off from crashing. The Cruel Pokémon landed right on top of him.

"No!" Tsubasa exclaimed.

"Now use Night Slash!" Tenten ordered. Liepard's claws became purple as he hacked away at Unfezant, striking him over and over.

"Quick, get him off of you!" Tsubasa yelled. Unfezant flew frantically all over the battlefield, but Liepard had a firm grip, and would not let go until he needed to.

"Samurott, Ice Beam!" Tenten commanded. As Whimsicott was getting back up from Liepard's Aerial Ace, several blue zigzag lines struck him, knocking him back down again.

"Wh-Whimsicott!" Tsubasa screamed, "All right then, use Sunny Day!" he ordered. Whimsicott leaves turned yellow once again, shooting beams of light into the rainy sky. With that, the rain stopped, and the clouds cleared, leaving a bright sunny sky.

"So that's your plan, huh?" Tenten asked.

"Don't think I don't have you this time!" Tsubasa screamed, "Whimsicott, Solarbeam!" Whimsicott formed a bright sphere upon his arms, and was prepared to fire it.

"Well then, Liepard, use Rain Dance!" Tenten commanded.

"What?!" Tsubasa asked.

"Liepard can use Rain Dance?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika…" Pikachu said in disbelief. Liepard roared into the air, and the dark clouds came back once more, along with heavy rainfall. Just then, Whimsicott looked down to see that his sphere had disappeared, and was immediately frantic.

"Ah!" Tsubasa exclaimed.

"Too late!" Tenten shouted, "Now Samurott, Hydro Pump, and Liepard, Aerial Ace!" she ordered. Samurott fired another huge blast of water, which was headed for Unfezant, while Liepard glided quickly towards Whimsicott.

"Dodge them!" Tsubasa called out. But both moves were too fast as Liepard hit Whimsicott quickly, and Samurott's Hydro Pump was too big for Unfezant to avoid. Both of them came crashing down towards Tsubasa, who was shocked out of his mind.

"Unbelievable!" Freddy exclaimed, "Tenten is making a tremendous comeback! Will the Shinobi 16 get the first win at this rate?!"

"Grrr…" Tsubasa growled as he looked down to see Whimsicott and Unfezant struggling to get back up. '_He's right…_' Tsubasa said to himself, '_At this rate, I can't win… I'll… I'll… lose…_'

"_Lose?_" A voice echoed inside his head. '_What?!_' Tsubasa exclaimed in his head, '_No… It can't be…_'

"_Didn't you say you wanted to win, that you wanted to get revenge for your friend?_" The voice echoed. '_Stop it!_' Tsubasa screamed in his head. He then grabbed it, feeling hurt and angry.

"Whim?" Whimsicott asked as he saw his trainer was gritting his teeth, and shaking his head like he was in pain. Tenten also noticed Tsubasa's actions.

"Hey, is something wrong?" she asked.

"_You want to beat this girl right?_" The voice asked, "_Then use your true power… Show her our power…_" '_Please, I want to do anything but that in order to win!_' Tsubasa yelled back in his head. Everyone in the stands was watching the S-Class Connoisseur as he was shaking his head in pain.

"What's wrong with him?" Burgundy asked. Cilan was extremely worried that Tsubasa was not himself anymore.

"Tsubasa…" Iris said in worry.

"Ax?" Axew asked.

"Pika…" Pikachu said.

"Come on Tsubasa, you can still win!" Ash cheered.

"Osha Osha!" Oshawott cheered along with Ash.

"_Don't you see?_" The voice echoed, "_They are depending on you… They need you to win… You must win…" _'_I… I… I…_' Tsubasa echoed over and over in his head. His hands let go of his head, and drooped down with his arms.

"Whimsi? Whimsicott Cott?!" Whimsicott asked as his trainer had seemed to have blacked out. The Windveiled Pokémon then looked over to his side to see Unfezant's head drooped down as well, his feathers being rained upon.

"I…" Tsubasa said, getting Whimsicott's attention. At first Whimsicott was happy to see that his trainer was still ready for battle, but then began to feel something different.

"Un…" Unfezant said, flapping his wings, ridding his feathers of water. Everyone on the sidelines and in the stands watched anxiously as Tsubasa and Unfezant were arising steadily.

"I will…" Tsubasa muttered.

"Unfez…" Unfezant chirped softly. Tenten took a step away from Tsubasa as she saw him rise. '_What's this ominous feeling I'm getting?_' she asked herself.

"Tsubasa…" Gingka said as he saw his friend slowly standing up.

"I WILL WIN!" Tsubasa yelled into the air as his eyes shined red with anger.

"UNFEZAAAAAANNTT!" The Proud Pokémon screamed as his eyes became red as well.

"Whim…" Whimsicott whimpered in fear as he saw both his partner and his trainer turn dark. A dark aura then burst from the battlefield, with large red eyes, flying into the air, and then dove back down, striking both Tsubasa and Unfezant.

"What in the world?!" Tenten asked as she tried to endure the force of this dark power.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Masamune asked, alongside Gingka.

"There's no mistaking it," Gingka replied, "That's the dark power of Tsubasa!" Upon hearing that, Ryuga came up to the railing, interested by the battle, smirking menacingly.

"Dark power?" Iris asked.

"It's something we don't really know too much about…" Masamune admitted, "But it's something Tsubasa's been keeping inside of him, that when it's unleashed, he gets a whole lot of power!"

"But that only applies to beyblade, right?" Ash asked in worry.

"I'm afraid that's not so," Ryuga said, "We'll just have to wait and see what Tsubasa does with this power…" Ash cringed upon hearing that, and so did Masamune and Gingka.

"DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ME!" Tsubasa screamed, "UNFEZANT, DESTROY THEM!"

"UN!" The Proud Pokémon screeched as he fired a powerful Echoed Voice, knocking back Liepard.

"Stay tough you guys!" Tenten called out.

"I SAID DON'T CROSS ME!" Tsubasa yelled. Unfezant then shot off a huge barrage of Air Slashes, raining down upon Samurott and Liepard.

"Samurott, block them with Razor Shell!" Tenten commanded. Samurott took out his seamitars and slashed away at the discs of air, making them all disperse and explode.

"YOU'RE WEAK!" Tsubasa yelled as Unfezant soared down upon Samurott with Echoed Voice over and over.

"This is really bad…" Tenten said to herself as the darkened Proud Pokémon was pummeling both Liepard and Samurott back down.

"Incredible!" Freddy exclaimed, "Tsubasa appears to be only relying on Unfezant to help him win the match!"

"However, it seems he is also fiercely fighting to win, like he has something to prove," Don George added. Brycen said nothing as he kept his eyes on Tsubasa, concerned for the S-Class Connoisseur's condition.

"PAAAARRRDD!" The Cruel Pokémon screamed as he fell to the ground, shaken from the relentless barrage of attacks.

"Samu… Samu…" Samurott breathed as he was also exhausted from fighting for so long.

"YOU WILL LOSE! YOU WILL ALL LOSE!" Tsubasa screamed as Unfezant continued to attack. Cilan and Burgundy were horrified at how darkened their fellow connoisseur had become.

"Tsubasa, stop this!" Cilan shouted.

"You're going to far just for revenge!" Burgundy yelled. Tsubasa glared back at the both of them.

"DON'T GET IN MY WAY…" he replied, "UNFEZANT!" he called out.

"UN!" The Proud Pokémon replied as he launched billions of Air Slashes down upon the battlefield, striking everywhere possible, even heading for the sidelines and stands.

"Burgundy!" Cilan screamed as the Air Slashes rained down. He rushed over to her and covered her from any of the attacks. Burgundy was scared out of her mind at what Tsubasa had become.

"What power…" Kankuro said, "If this is what the second round's gonna be like, then I'm glad I didn't make it before…"

"Whim Whimsicott!" Whimsicott screamed to his trainer, who was now being fueled by darkness.

"DON'T GET IN MY WAY EITHER!" Tsubasa screamed back. Unfezant then sped over, firing an Echoed Voice that knocked Whimsicott down.

"Oh dear!" Freddy exclaimed, "Unfezant is also attacking Whimsicott, his ally!"

"Whim…" Whimsicott cried as he saw Unfezant barrage Samurott and Liepard with unrelenting attacks.

"YOU ARE WEAK!" Tsubasa yelled, "AND YOU WILL BE FINISHED FOR GOOD!" Just then, Unfezant began charging up a Sky Attack, but with a dark purple aura surrounding him this time.

"Oh no!" Lee exclaimed as he saw this.

"Tenten, get your Pokémon out of there!" Neji yelled. Unfortunately, Samurott and Liepard could barely move after being barraged by Unfezant's attacks, and were completely powerless against the Proud Pokémon now.

"NOW DISAPPEAR!" Tsubasa screamed as Unfezant sped straight downward, "DISAPPEAR INTO OBLIVION!" Suddenly, Whimsicott floated right in front of Samurott and Liepard, taking the Sky Attack upon himself, creating a huge explosion in the middle of the battlefield.

"Oh my!" Freddy exclaimed. As the smoke was clearing, Whimsicott fell down onto the grass, his eyes in swirls. Once Tsubasa saw this, he blinked in confusion, and the dark aura was leaving his body.

"Whimsicott?" he asked as he saw that the Windveiled Pokémon had been knocked out. The smoke finally cleared to reveal Unfezant, flapping his wings in the rain, which then ceased, and the clouds disappeared.

"Thank goodness…" Choji said as he had seen what happened, "But why would Whimsicott do that?"

"I think Whimsicott must have wanted Tsubasa to snap out of it," Kakashi replied, "At any rate, let's hope he completely snapped out of it."

"Unbelievable!" Don George shouted, "Folks, it looks like Tsubasa's Whimsicott is down for the count!" The crowd began cheering loudly as the battle was now reaching its end phase.

"No…" Tsubasa said, "Whimsicott, what did I- AHHH!" he screamed as he grabbed his head in pain.

"Fez?! Fezant?!" Unfezant asked, worried for his trainer.

"Quick, Samurott, use Slash!" Tenten ordered. The Formidable Pokémon jumped into the air, with the fingers on his right paw glowing white, he struck Unfezant as the Proud Pokémon had turned around to see Samurott only a second too late. The Flying type was struck down to the ground, and his eyes were left all swirled up.

"Both Unfezant and Whimsicott are unable to battle, therefore, Liepard and Samurott win, and that means Tenten wins the match!" The referee exclaimed. The crowd cheered even louder than before at the victory.

"That was unreal…" Stephan said in shock.

"Tell me about it…" Georgia agreed.

"Unfezant, Whimsicott, return…" Tsubasa said as he returned both of his Pokémon back to their respective Poké Balls. He then dropped them both, and fell to his knees, and then flat on his face.

"Tsubasa!" Gingka screamed. The flaming-headed beyblader rushed out onto the battlefield as soon as he saw his friend fall down.

"Oh no!" Ash said, running out there as well, along with Pikachu and Masamune.

"Come on, let's go," Cilan said to Burgundy as he rushed out to his friend as well. Burgundy was somewhat reluctant, but followed Cilan anyway.

"Someone, please, call in the paramedics immediately!" Don George yelled over the microphone, while the whole crowd was shocked by what happened.

"Tsubasa, are you all right?!" Gingka asked as he ran up to his friend.

"Gingka…" he uttered as his eyes were still open.

"Is he okay?!" Tenten asked as she ran up as well, along with Ash and the others.

"Tsubasa…" Masamune said. He was still shocked that Tsubasa had been pushed that far to use his dark power. Cilan was also shocked at that fact, as he stood with Burgundy cowering right behind him, afraid of the S-Class connoisseur.

"Cilan… Burgundy…" Tsubasa uttered as his eyes were closing.

"Yes, Tsubasa?" Cilan asked, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"I'm sorry…" Tsubasa said, leaving Cilan with sadness in his heart as the paramedics carried him away.

Chapter 5 End!

SUMMARY TIME!

**With the Galaxy Trainers one win down, Ash inspires everyone to do their best! The next match up is Hinata versus Sai! Sai uses both Sawk and Sigilyph against Hinata's Emolga and Reuniclus to win! But, does Rex notice something odd about Sai's choice of Pokémon?!**

**The next match pits Iris against Captain Yamato! Using Axew and Emolga, Iris is eager to advance into the next round. However, when Emolga is put up against the wall, and Iris can only rely on Axew, will she have to unleash the attack that she fears…?! **

**Before lunch begins, Ash goes up against the bug master, Shino! However, Ash uses Snivy and Scraggy to go up against Accelgor and Crustle! Since Scraggy's Focus Blast can't work properly, Ash has to rely on Snivy for the majority of the match! But what will happen when Attract won't work, and when Snivy is left completely helpless?! **

Leave good reviews please!


	6. Fiery Double Battles! Scraggy Unleashed!

NOTE: No bashing again please. And also, I would love a ton of reviews! Thanks for the support!

"Well, this has been an incredible first match up!" Freddy O'Martin exclaimed over the loudspeakers, "Tsubasa, who was making an astonishing comeback with just his Unfezant, lost in the blink of an eye as his Whimsicott shielded his opponent's Pokémon from Unfezant's Sky Attack!" The paramedics that arrived on the field carried Tsubasa out on a stretcher. He was unconscious, but was otherwise fine. Meanwhile, the rest of the group who had been by Tsubasa before he was carried away was left silent.

"That was unbelievable…" Ash said.

"No kidding," Tenten replied, "What was that anyway?"

"Explanations can wait," Cilan stated, "Right now, I think we should go check on Tsubasa."

"I'll go with you then," Tenten replied, "I think he might want to talk with me anyways."

"We should go too!" Ash yelled.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Ash, I don't think that the matches are gonna be delayed just because of a little mishap…" Masamune replied, "You and Gingka should head back to the sidelines in case either of you gets called out to battle." Ash groaned at the thought, but knew that Masamune was right, and so did Gingka.

"Are you going to come along with us?" Cilan asked Masamune.

"Since I'm not battling anymore, of course I am!" Masamune replied, "Besides, Tsubasa's my friend, and friends are always there for each other." Cilan nodded in agreement, and then turned to Burgundy. She looked away, knowing what Cilan would probably ask her.

"Burgundy, would you like to come along as well?" Cilan asked, holding out his hand. Burgundy held her right arm behind her back as a somber look was upon her face.

"I… I don't know Cilan…" she replied, "I feel… frightened by this side of Tsubasa…" The A-Class connoisseur knew exactly how she felt, and nodded.

"Even so, I think Tsubasa would like to speak with you as well," Cilan said, "While you are a developing connoisseuse, Tsubasa doesn't have the right to say anything hurtful about your tastes." Burgundy was surprised Cilan had said all that in her defense, while she still desired revenge on the former Striaton Gym Leader.

"V-Very well then…" she answered, heading towards the entrance with Tenten, Masamune, and Cilan, while Ash and Gingka went back to the sidelines, taking a last look towards their friends, who exited the stadium.

"Tsubasa…" Ash sighed.

"If Tsubasa had just let go of his darkness, then he would've won," Ryuga stated.

"Yeah?!" Ash screamed, "And how come it looked like Tsubasa would've won anyway?!"

"You're such an ignorant kid," Ryuga said, shoving Ash to the ground. Pikachu jumped off of his trainer's shoulder as he feel, landing on his feet and paws.

"Pika?!" he asked Ryuga, with his cheeks sparking with electricity as he growled at the dragon emperor.

"Hey!" Iris yelled, "He may be a kid, but he's also right!"

"Yeah!" Stephan exclaimed, "This battle would've turned out much worse if Tsubasa had kept using that power!"

"And yet, he would've won," Trip said, "And we needed a win, didn't we?"

"We didn't need a win that would risk somebody getting hurt!" Ash screamed as he got up.

"Tsubasa lost because his Whimsicott got in the way of that Sky Attack," Trip said, "His own power backfired on him." Ash gritted his teeth at Trip's words, but then felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to see Gingka shaking his head. The beyblader let go of Ash, and then turned to Trip.

"That wasn't the real Tsubasa," he said.

"Huh?" Trip said, raising an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"My friends and I…" Gingka began to reply, "We all thought Tsubasa had defeated the dark power, but…"

"It's been lurking inside of him, hasn't it?" Naruto finished, getting a nod from Gingka in reply.

"I guess his dark power was unleashed because his anger was focused on Tenten…" Gingka admitted, "He wanted revenge for Cilan, to show that he wasn't a bad connoisseur…" Everyone but Trip and Ryuga nodded in agreement.

"Hmph…" Ryuga said, shoving Naruto out of his way as walked off. Trip watched as he walked past, giving a glance to the so-called "Dragon Master". Ryuga glared right back at him, but Trip didn't even flinch.

"Well, whatever," Trip said, "We're now down a win, so how can we get it back?" he asked Ash and Gingka. Both boys were caught off guard by Trip's question, but grinned at the thought of getting wins back.

"We're all gonna give our best effort, both for our sake, and Tsubasa's sake!" Ash and Gingka replied in unison.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said as well. Trip let out a little chuckle, and then sat down back on the bench. The boys both smiled as they felt confident about the next couple of matches.

"You guys are definitely right!" Iris said, "We will win the next battle, I know it!"

"Ax Axew!" Axew agreed, popping out of Iris' hair.

"Hey, Gingky!" A voice called out from the stands. Ash, Gingka, and Iris turned to see a young boy with wild yellow orange hair, and a girl with goggles upon her head, and a laptop in her hands.

"Yu!" Gingka exclaimed.

"And Madoka!" Ash added. The excited little boy came up to the guardrail separating the stands from the sidelines.

"Hey Gingky!" he said excitedly, "Me and Madoka thought we'd stop since we heard you were participating!"

"Yeah!" Madoka said, closing her laptop, "Sorry we're so late though. It looks like we just missed an intense battle." Gingka was surprised that Yu and Madoka had missed Tsubasa's battle, and was reluctant to tell them about it.

"Hey, where's Masamoomoo and Tsubasa?" Yu asked, "Weren't they with you guys?" Gingka cringed upon hearing the question, and Ash knew that Gingka didn't want to have to tell Yu what happened.

"Pika Pi?" Pikachu asked his trainer.

"Yeah buddy, I know," Ash replied, turning to the stands, "Um, Yu?" he said, getting his attention.

"Hey Ashy, what's up?" Yu asked. Ash gulped, worried how Yu would react.

"You see, Tsubasa is-"

"Folks, it looks like we'll be continuing the second round, starting right now!" Don George exclaimed over the loudspeakers, cutting off Ash's reply to Yu.

"All right!" Yu exclaimed, excited to see some battles.

"Phew…" Ash sighed in relief, though he knew that Yu and Madoka would have to learn the truth sooner or later. Meanwhile, the remaining 14 cards on the board began to randomly shuffle around in all directions, while the remaining trainers of both teams watched in anticipation. The two cards selected then made their way to the center, with everyone in both the stands and sidelines wondering what the match would be. They then both flipped over, revealing the second battle of the second round.

"It looks like Sai will be facing Hinata in the second match!" Freddy exclaimed over the microphone. Sai grinned on the account of having to battle even earlier than before. Hinata on the other hand, was not so excited as she quivered for going up earlier.

"Seems like we're looking at back to back losses…" Rex bluntly stated, causing him to get whacked by Ben.

"Hey!" Ben yelled, "You remember how well Hinata did in the last battle, right?" he asked, making Rex realize that Hinata was strong from the other day in the first round, "She's definitely gonna win, that's for sure!" Hinata was surprised by Ben's confidence in her, but knew that he was right.

"Yeah, you're totally strong!" Naruto added, making her blush.

"You're gonna root for her this time, aren't you?" Rex asked the blonde knucklehead.

"Well…" Naruto began, making Ben sweat-drop as he thought Naruto wouldn't be doing any cheering unless he really had to, "Even though Sai's on my team, he can be a pain sometimes. So, I'll cheer for Hinata all the way!" Hinata smiled in excitement at the thought of Naruto cheering for her.

"Just don't get so riled up in the battle, okay?" Ben said sarcastically, making the Leaf Village hero puff his cheeks in anger. Meanwhile, the field had just changed into an ice field from Georgia's match yesterday.

"So, the ice field has been selected for our second battle of the day!" O'Martin yelled, "The battling action should be intense as our trainers have each shown a lot of strength in the first round!"

"Indeed," Brycen stated, "I especially look forward to seeing how Hinata deals with Sai's specialty in battling." Hinata and Sai both walked through the gates of their respective sides, heading to their positions on the field.

"Be careful Hinata!" Stephan yelled, "Sai's definitely more dangerous than he looks!" Hinata nodded in reply to him, looking quite serious. Brycen was quite intrigued as he had once seen Hinata look completely scared to go out onto the battlefield, and was now seeing her a whole new way.

"Hinata barely won her match yesterday, so how can she pull off a win now?" Trip asked.

"Say what?!" Naruto asked angrily, ready to strike Trip. Rex stopped him, holding him back by his left shoulder.

"Don't get all riled up," Rex said, "He knew how Hinata was almost defeated the other day, and so he's only stating his opinion." Trip grinned, while Naruto growled at the genius trainer from Nuvema Town.

"But that being said, this is a new Hinata we're seeing today," Ben added. Trip was uninterested, stepped away from the railing, and went back to the benches.

"Jeez…" Ash said.

"You know," Iris began to say, "Trip is kind of like Ryuga, except he's not as menacing as he is."

"Ax?" Axew asked, a little confused. Ash looked down as he thought about what Iris said. He looked back at his previous, trying to determine if there was a stronger rival of his that resembled Ryuga even more than Trip. He and Pikachu cringed at the thought of that particular rival.

"Without further ado, let's get this match up started!" Freddy boomed, making the crowd cheer immensely, "To our right, we have the Pokémon battling artist, who makes good use of his Pokémon's weak points, Sai!"

"And to our left, the shy, yet bold trainer as seen in the first round, Hinata!" Don George exclaimed.

"Hinata, I look forward to seeing what our battle will bring about," Sai said with a bright looking smile, "Although, I can't say for sure that you'll beat me… I guess we'll have to find that out for ourselves!" he added, taking out two Poké Balls. Hinata looked upon the field as her opponent was prepared with his Pokémon. '_Let's see…_' she thought, viewing the battlefield, '_The ice will be quite slippery, so I have to use a team of two that can avoid being affected by this terrain..._' She then took out two Poké Balls herself.

"Go get 'em Hinata!" Gingka yelled.

"Yeah, show that guy what you've got!" Ash cheered.

"Go for it!" Iris cheered as well.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

"Axew!" Axew cried.

"Are both of you ready to begin?" The referee asked.

"Yes, I am," Sai said.

"I am as well," Hinata replied.

"Then, let the battle begin!" The referee announced, swinging his arm down.

"Sawk, Sigilyph, let's go!" Sai called out, throwing his Poké Balls. Both opened, and the light emerging from them each formed into the Karate Pokémon, Sawk and the Aviation Pokémon, Sigilyph. When Hinata saw her opponent's Pokémon, she smiled a little. '_That's great!_' she exclaimed in her head as she enlarged both Poké Balls.

"Emolga and Reuniclus, go!" she called out, throwing the Poké Balls into the air as well. Both popped open, and the light from each formed into both the Sky Squirrel Pokémon, Emolga, and the Multiplying Pokémon, Reuniclus.

"Well, it seems like this is going to be an intense battle!" Freddy noted. Brycen kept his eyes on the battlefield, hoping for a good match up.

X

Back at the Icirrus Pokémon Center, Cilan, Burgundy, Masamune, and Tenten were all in the same room with Tsubasa as he was still unconscious from his battle. He had been laid down on his bed as he had no severe injuries that needed treatment, but he did need rest.

"So, what was that power?" Tenten asked, breaking the silence. Everyone else in the room was surprised she would ask such a question, and they turned to Masamune, thinking he'd have a logical answer.

"It's called the dark power…" Masamune admitted, "It's something that's triggered when Tsubasa's at his limit in battling… This is the first time it happened during a Pokémon battle… And I never thought it would even happen at all…"

"Tsubasa was so angry at me, because of you, right?" Tenten asked Cilan.

"Huh?" Cilan replied, "What do you mean?"

"When I beat you the other day, I said that your connoisseur talk kept you from battling seriously, and I thought that cost you the battle," Tenten admitted, "I guess I was a little too harsh on you…"

"No, no!" Cilan said, "It's fine! To be fair, I should be ashamed for letting your words bring me down. And besides, this is my fault this happened…"

"Cilan?" Burgundy asked. Masamune and Tenten decided to just listen as Cilan looked down in depression.

"If I hadn't acted like that, then Tsubasa wouldn't have wanted revenge in the first place…" Cilan said, "I feel that I'm the one to blame for this whole mess…"

"Now what kind of an A-Class connoisseur is that?!" Burgundy questioned angrily, surprising him.

"What do you mean?" Cilan asked, sweat-dropping in worry.

"You said that you had inspired Tsubasa to become a Pokémon Connoisseur," Burgundy noted, "So why are you so depressed about it?! You should be glad that Tsubasa made it this far! He put a lot of faith in you!" Burgundy's outburst surprised everyone, especially Cilan.

"Burgundy…" Cilan began to say, "I think you're right, I shouldn't be depressed after this. I know Tsubasa gave his best effort and that's good enough for a connoisseur like he is." Burgundy nodded in agreement, and smiled.

"Glad to see that you two are getting along…" A voice whispered behind them. Everyone gasped to see Tsubasa, awake and conscious.

"Tsubasa!" Cilan exclaimed. Tsubasa tried to rise up from his bed, but felt a singe of pain, forcing him to lie back down.

"Don't push yourself bud," Masamune said.

"Masamune…" Tsubasa muttered, "I lost, didn't I?" Masamune wasn't sure how to respond, because he knew Tsubasa wanted to win against Tenten, yet also knew that he did lose.

"Yeah, you did," Masamune replied with a nod. Tsubasa then sat up on his bed, still feeling a little pain.

"Are Whimsicott… and Unfezant all right?" he asked, still groaning a little.

"We gave both of them to Nurse Joy while the paramedics took you into your room," Cilan said, "And rest assured, they'll be fully healed!"

"That's a relief…" Tsubasa said as he looked down, thinking about how Whimsicott jumped in, and saved Samurott and Liepard from being annihilated by Unfezant. He then turned to Tenten, who was still at a loss for words.

"Hey, are you feeling any better?" Tenten asked. Tsubasa was surprised that his opponent was concerned about him, even after she had won the battle.

"Yeah, I feel a bit better," Tsubasa replied, "Thanks for asking." Tenten gave him a bright smile, which made a grin appear on his face.

"Just take it easy, okay?" Masamune said, "Gingka and the others are gonna win the rest of the battles of this round so we can win this tournament as a team!"

"I know I can count on them," Tsubasa replied, "And I'll take it easy too. You guys better watch out now," Tsubasa said to Tenten.

"Don't act all high and mighty since you're still raring to go," Tenten said, "Next time, let's have a good battle, a fair one at that."

"Yeah, definitely," Tsubasa replied, holding out his hand for a handshake, which Tenten accepted happily.

"Hope you feel better by lunch!" Tenten said, running out the door.

"Guess she's heading back to the stadium I suppose…" Tsubasa noted, "Why don't you guys head back too?"

"Huh?" Masamune said, "No way pal! After your battle, we want to make sure you get some much needed rest."

"I've already rested enough," Tsubasa replied, "But I suppose I do need some time away from the stadium…" Cilan and Burgundy were surprised that Tsubasa wanted to go back to the stadium too, even though he had just been unconscious.

"Tsubasa, that battle did show a lot of spice," Burgundy said, getting his attention, "But I feel that used too much of that spice during your battle, and I was afraid of you…" Tsubasa was shocked by Burgundy's reaction to his dark power.

"I'm really sorry…" he said, "I really, really am…"

"In a way, Burgundy's right," Cilan said, making Tsubasa lower his head, "However, that doesn't you can give up on yourself just because this power of yours changes you. As a fellow connoisseur, I know you are strong, and I know you have a strong spirit."

"Cilan…" Tsubasa said.

"Yeah, your spirit is one of the strongest of Team Gan-Gan Galaxy!" Masamune stated, "And they believe it too!" Tsubasa smiled, with his eyes beginning to water a little.

"Thanks," he said, trying not to let tears flow, "Cilan, Burgundy, both of you are great connoisseurs, and I know you'll become better ones in the future." Cilan and Burgundy both nodded in agreement. After an exchange of goodbyes, both the A-Class connoisseur, and C-Class connoisseuse were headed back to the stadium, leaving Masamune to take care of Tsubasa. As they were about to walk out of the Pokémon Center, Burgundy stopped for a moment.

"Cilan?" she said, getting his attention.

"Yes Burgundy?" he asked. The connoisseuse then did the unexpected, she hugged Cilan loosely, surprising him.

"Thank you," she said, letting go of the connoisseur, "But don't you dare tell anyone about this!" she yelled at him, walking out of the center in a huff.

"That was odd…" Cilan said, scratching his head as he stood there, dumbfounded.

X

"Reuniclus, Psyshock!" Hinata ordered.

"Sawk, jump away!" Sai called out. From her hands, the Multiplying Pokémon formed a jelly-like ball of energy, firing it directly at Sawk, who flipped backwards, avoiding the attack, landing a block of ice.

"Emolga, Spark!" Hinata commanded.

"Counter it with Sky Attack Sigilyph!" Sai ordered. Emolga swooped in, gliding towards Sawk with electricity covering his body. However, Sigilyph also swooped in with a white aura surrounding his body, colliding with Emolga before he could strike Sawk.

"Wow!" Freddy exclaimed, "Sigilyph seems to not be giving an inch, despite the type disadvantage!" Both Spark and Sky Attack cancelled each other out as each Pokémon went back to the respective side.

"Sawk, Calm Mind," Sai said. The Karate Pokémon clapped his hands together, closing his eyes as he focused.

"And Sai has Sawk use Calm Mind to increase his Special Attack and Special Defense!" Freddy noted, "What will Hinata do to counter that?"

"Use Acrobatics!" Hinata commanded. Emolga then sped towards the Karate Pokémon as he stood still on the ice block, leaving afterimages as he glided quickly.

"Sigilyph, Reflect!" Sai called out. All of a sudden, several glowing spheres began orbiting Sigilyph, and some went over to Sawk as well. The spheres then merged with both of Sai's Pokémon, encasing them in a rainbow-like aura. Emolga then collided with Sawk, merely knocking off of the ice block, as he landed right on his feet upon the ice.

"Sai takes good use of his time to have Sigilyph use Reflect to give his tag team of Pokémon better defense," Don George noted, "Hinata is now in quite a tough spot."

"All right Sai!" Kiba yelled, "That's the way!"

"Come on Hinata, you can do it!" Naruto cheered. '_Naruto…_' Hinata thought as she heard him cheer.

"Emolga, use Electro Ball on Sawk!" Hinata commanded.

"Emon!" The Sky Squirrel Pokémon replied as a ball of electricity formed upon his tail. He then jumped into the air, throwing the ball at Sawk.

"Counter it with Focus Blast!" Sai called out. Sawk then formed a blue ball of energy from his own hands, launching it in the direction of the Electro Ball. Both attacks collided, leaving smoke to cover the field.

"What a collision!" Freddy boomed excitedly.

"Now Sigilyph, Psybeam!" Sai ordered. As the smoke had still not cleared, a rainbow-like ray of light shot through the smoke, headed directly for Emolga.

"Reuniclus, Protect!" Hinata called out. The Multiplying Pokémon responded quickly, floating over in front of Emolga, creating a glowing blue shield in front of her hands, blocking the Psybeam.

"Wow!" Don George exclaimed, "This battle is turning into a defensive brawl!" The smoke then cleared, with Sawk and Sigilyph glaring down at Reuniclus and Emolga, who glared right back. '_I bet Hinata knows that I don't plan to fight her head on, and I'll to rely on defense for the most part, since my attacks aren't very strong…_' Sai thought as he looked on the battlefield.

"Come on Sai, win this!" Sakura shouted from the sidelines.

"Take her down Sai!" Kankuro yelled.

"All right, Sawk use Stone Edge!" Sai commanded. Sawk's body suddenly flashed a bright white, and then several pointed stones then began orbiting around him. The Karate Pokémon then fired the stones towards Emolga.

"Uh oh!" Freddy boomed, "It looks like Emolga is about to be thrashed by Sawk's Stone Edge!" Emolga however, just looked upon the stones with a smirk on his face.

"Emolga, Electro Ball, and Reuniclus, Psyshock!" Hinata ordered. Emolga fired another ball of electricity from his tail, while Reuniclus launched several jelly-like balls of energy, each heading on a collision course with the stones. They collided, leaving dust and smoke to fill the air for a brief second as the Electro Ball was still headed straight for Sawk.

"Quick, dodge it!" Sai called out. The Karate jumped away as the Electro Ball exploded on contact with a block of ice, smashing it to pieces. Sawk then looked up into the air, seeing Emolga airborne, smiling at how the Karate Pokémon was almost hit.

"Sawk…" Sawk growled.

"Don't take that!" Sai yelled, "Use Focus Blast!" Sawk then fired another bright blue ball of energy from his hands, about to strike Emolga.

"Emolga, Light Screen!" Hinata called out. Emolga threw out his hands, and a psychic wall, made up of small hexagons formed in front of him, not only blocking the Focus Blast, but also making it disperse. Sai gasped, as well as Sawk.

"And with that Light Screen, Sawk's Focus Blast has been lessened in power!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Light Screen cuts the damage done by Special Attacks," Don George explained, "I'm proud to say that Hinata is thinking things through." Sai cringed in frustration as Sawk landed back on the ground.

"All right Sigilyph, back up Sawk with Air Slash!" Sai ordered, "And Sawk, use Calm Mind!" Sigilyph's wings turned a bright white, as Sawk clapped his hands together again, focusing his energy. As that was happening, Sigilyph closed his wings, and then flapped them open, firing dozens of shuriken-like discs of air.

"Reuniclus, counter that with Thunder!" Hinata called out. Electricity began to spark all over Reuniclus as she fired a huge bolt of lightning that went straight through the Air Slashes, dispersing them, and then heading right for Sigilyph, who flew out of the way, letting Sawk get struck by the lightning.

"SAAAAAWWWWWKKKK!" The Karate Pokémon screamed in pain.

"Sawk, no!" Sai yelled.

"Well, would you look at that!" O'Martin boomed, "Sigilyph avoids getting hit by Thunder, but Sawk takes the brunt of the attack!" The attack then ceased, but Sawk was still sparking with electricity.

"Not to mention, it looks like Sawk has been paralyzed by Reuniclus' Thunder," Don George added.

"Interesting…" Brycen said, intrigued deeply by the battle.

"Don't give in Sai!" Sakura yelled.

"Come on, she just got lucky, that's all!" Ino shouted.

"Go Hinata!" Gingka cheered.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried.

"All right, finish him off Hinata!" Ben yelled. The Omnitrix bearer was really amazed at how well Hinata was doing based on her performance the other day. He then turned to see Rex eyeing the battlefield, with a suspicious look in his eye.

"Go, go, go!" Ash cheered as Ben walked over to Rex.

"Dude, what's up?" he asked the evo.

"Notice that Sai's Sawk was the same one he used the other day?" Rex asked.

"Yeah, so?" Ben said, wondering what Rex was looking into.

"And his Sigilyph…" Rex began to say, "It has Air Slash, Psybeam, Reflect, and then Sky Attack…"

"What are you saying?" Ben asked.

"I'm saying that Sigilyph has almost the exact same moves as Naruto's," Rex admitted.

"Well, that's a given…" Ben said, "Pokémon tend to have similar moves to others' Pokémon, that's not really anything to be worked up about." Ben then walked off, still watching the battle, while Rex still eyed the Sigilyph closely, wondering what was up.

"Sigilyph, Sky Attack!" Sai ordered. The Aviation Pokémon dove down upon Reuniclus in a bright white aura, ready to strike.

"Counter it with Dizzy Punch!" Hinata called out. The Multiplying Pokémon's right hand became a glowing yellow fist as she hit Sigilyph, countering his Sky Attack, sending him flying back into the air, while she was shoved into a block of ice.

"Sigilyph!" Sai cried out.

"Sig…" he replied, shaking his head in dizziness as he was still taken aback from that Dizzy Punch.

"Emolga, Electro Ball!" Hinata commanded. Emolga fired another Electro Ball, headed straight for Sigilyph.

"Counter it with Psybeam!" Sai called out. From the eye on top of his head, the Aviation Pokémon shot a rainbow-like ray of light stopping the Electro Ball, but wasn't able to destroy it.

"Now Reuniclus, use Thunder!" Hinata ordered. Reuniclus then floated back into the air with electricity covering her whole body. The Multiplying Pokémon fired another huge bolt of lightning in the same direction of the Electro Ball, colliding with it.

"Now what?!" Freddy asked in exclamation, "Hinata is now using Thunder with the Electro Ball, so what is she doing?!" All of a sudden, the Electro became massive, increasing in electricity from the Thunder, dispersing the Psybeam, and then collided with Sigilyph, creating a huge explosion.

"Sigilyph, no!" Sai cried out as the Aviation Pokémon fell to the ground.

"Sigilii…" he moaned as his eyes were in swirls.

"Sigilyph is unable to battle!" The referee announced. The crowd cheered loudly as Sai returned his fallen Pokémon.

"And with that, Sai is down to one Pokémon already!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Sawk, stand your ground!" Sai called out.

"Sawk!" The Karate Pokémon replied, still cringing from the paralysis.

"Reuniclus, Dizzy Punch!" Hinata ordered. Reuniclus floated forward towards Sawk, with her fist glowing yellow.

"Use Grass Knot!" Sai ordered. Sawk's eyes glowed green as vines came up underground, about to trap Reuniclus. However, the Light Screen blocked the vines from even touching her. Sai cringed as he had forgotten. Reuniclus struck Sawk right in face, sending him crashing into another block of ice on the field. Sawk's eyes became a bright red as he wobbled around, stumbling on the ice.

"Sawk's been confused!" Ash exclaimed, "Hinata's got this match now!"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

"Okay, Emolga, use Acrobatics!" Hinata commanded. Emolga then sped towards Sawk, striking him from all directions, leaving afterimages as he hit him. Sawk then shook his head, relieving himself from the confusion.

"Sawk, quickly, use Focus Blast!" Sai ordered.

"Emolga, use Spark!" Hinata ordered. Sawk launched another bright blue ball of energy, while Emolga was covered in electricity, speeding towards Sawk. The Sky Squirrel Pokémon avoided the Focus Blast, and struck Sawk right in the chest, sending him flying into the ice, leaving a huge crater. As the smoke cleared. Emolga stood on top of Sawk, who was laid down on the ice, with his eyes in swirls.

"Sawk is unable to battle, Emolga and Reuniclus win, and therefore the match goes to Hinata!" The referee exclaimed.

"Reu!" Reuniclus exclaimed in joy, floating over to her trainer. Hinata smiled happily as Reuniclus gave her a big hug, and Emolga flew over as well, landing on his trainer's shoulder.

"Thank you so much, you two!" Hinata said giving them both hugs as well.

"Well folks, that was an amazing battle!" Freddy exclaimed.

"After seeing how well Hinata did in this battle, I'm sure we'll see her progress even further before the tournament ends," Brycen said.

"Sawk, return," Sai said as he called back the Karate Pokémon to his Poké Ball. He then turned to Hinata, who was walking back to the sidelines.

"Oh, Sai!" she said, forgetting that he was still there.

"Hinata, I wish you luck with both the tournament, and your emotional distress," Sai said with his fake smile.

"Emotional distress?" Hinata asked as Sai walked away.

"Reuniclus…" Reuniclus said.

"Emon…" Emolga sighed. Hinata was a little confused, but disregarded it as she headed back into her team's area, greeted by Ash and Gingka first. Meanwhile, on the board, Sai's card was gone as Hinata's was shown as the winner.

"That was awesome Hinata!" Ash said.

"Yeah, you ruled in that battle!" Gingka complimented.

"Th-Thank you…" Hinata stuttered.

"You definitely showed that guy what you've got, that's for sure!" Stephan added.

"Th-Thank you too Stephan!" Hinata said.

"Oh boy, even she gets it-" Stephan was about to say, but then realized something, "right? You got it right?" he asked in surprise.

"I did?" Hinata asked, confused.

"You did get it right!" Stephan said, hugging Hinata, "Finally! Someone who can say my name right?"

"Hold on, how'd she say it right?" Ash asked.

"Beats me," Gingka replied.

"Pika…" Pikachu sighed.

"Uh… Stephan… l-let go!" Hinata said, accidentally palming Stephan in the chest, shoving him to the ground.

"Stephen, are you okay?!" Gingka asked.

"Yeah… I'm good…" Stephan said, "Though getting my name wrong doesn't make it feel any better…"

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata apologized.

"Don't be!" Stephan replied, "I got a little carried away I guess…"

"Yeah… I guess so…" Hinata said nervously.

"Hey Hinata, that was so cool!" Iris said as she ran up to her, "Your Emolga and Reuniclus are so strong! I wish I could have Pokémon that were as strong as those two!"

"You know this is my first time seeing a Reuniclus," Ash said, while both he and Gingka took out their Pokédexes. They both opened into a split-screen, revealing data about Reuniclus as she was scanned.

"_Reuniclus, The Multiplying Pokémon, and the evolved form of Duosion. They use psychic power to control their arms, which are made of a special liquid. They can crush boulders physically,_" The Pokédex stated.

"Wow, that's sounds really powerful!" Ash said.

"Not to mention, your Emolga is no slouch either!" Iris said, crouching down to get a closer look at the Sky Squirrel Pokémon.

"Emon!" he said proudly.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu greeted as he jumped off of Ash's shoulder to greet Emolga. The Sky Squirrel Pokémon gave the Mouse Pokémon as handshake, saying hello as well.

"Emolga's always a gentleman to any Pokémon that it meets outside of battling," Hinata said, "Isn't that right Emolga?" she asked.

"Monga!" he said proudly, with his paws on his hips.

"Maybe he should meet my Emolga!" Iris said, taking out a Poké Ball, "Come on out!" she exclaimed, throwing the ball. The light from it formed into her own Emolga, whom was rubbing her eyes after being awoken so suddenly. She then looked to see Pikachu talking with Hinata's Emolga, and became instantly infatuated. Suddenly, a light from Ash's pants emerged, and formed into Oshawott, who looked furious.

"Oshawott?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Osha!" The Sea Otter Pokémon yelled at Hinata's Emolga.

"Mon?" he asked, confused.

"Osha Osh Oshawott!" he screamed at him in reply.

"Emon Monga!" he yelled. Just then, Iris' Emolga came in, wanting to talk to Hinata's alone. She shoved Oshawott out of the way, excited to see the new Emolga.

"Emon!" she greeted with a cute face.

"Mon?" Emolga replied in confusion, surprising Iris'. Suddenly Oshawott tackled Hinata's Emolga, enraged by the situation.

"Oshawott, stop that!" Ash said as he was trying to pull them both apart.

"Emolga, s-settle down, p-please!" Hinata said, pulling Emolga away.

"Oh boy…" Iris sighed.

"Axew…" Axew sighed as well. Hinata returned her Emolga, while Ash returned his Oshawott, ending the sudden feud.

"Well that was weird…" Ash said.

"Hey, you guys!" A voice called out from the entrance. Ash turned to see Cilan and Burgundy walking towards them, back from the Pokémon Center.

"Cilan!" Ash said.

"So Hinata, you won your battle?" Cilan asked, getting a nod from her in reply, "Wonderful!" he exclaimed.

"I have to admit, that I was kind of doubtful that you would win today, but you did pull it off after all," Burgundy said.

"But we still have six more battles to go," Iris said, "So, let's win them all!"

"Yeah!" Gingka said with excitement. Just then, the flaming haired beyblader noticed that the board was shuffling the cards again. Two cards made their way to the middle, flipping over to reveal the next match.

"Captain Yamato will be facing Iris in the next battle!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Well, here we go…" Iris said nervously, remembering how Masamune was utterly defeated yesterday by Yamato.

"You got this Iris, no problem!" Ash said in support.

"Right!" Iris replied, "Axew, Emolga, let's go!"

"Axew!" The Tusk Pokémon replied, skipping with Iris to the battlefield, which had changed to the water log field.

"Emon!" The Sky Squirrel Pokémon said, as she glided onto one of the upright logs, landing on it safely.

"It looks like Iris has selected Emolga as one of her two Pokémon!" Freddy noted, "And the battle hasn't even started yet!"

"Ax!" Axew exclaimed happily as he skipped upon the logs as well, landing on a stable one next to Emolga.

"And Axew is Iris' second choice!" Don George exclaimed, "However, since she's already made her choices this early before the match, it gives her opponent time to choose the correct Pokémon to battle with." Iris cringed as she realized this. '_Uh oh,_' she thought, '_I didn't even consider the circumstances, and plus, this guy is definitely strong…_' Yamato arrived at his position seconds later, enlarging two Poké Balls, taken from his belt.

"Well, at least she's using a Dragon type this time," Georgia said, crossing her arms.

"Yes," Burgundy agreed, "But still, Axew is not that experienced in battles, so I don't how she plans to win this…"

"She'll win with spirit of course!" Gingka said with a thumbs up.

"Are you ready to begin?" The referee asked the captain.

"Yes indeed," Yamato replied, "Seismitoad and Lilligant, go!" he called out, throwing the Poké Balls into the air. Both opened, and the light from them formed into both the Flowering Pokémon, Lilligant, and the Vibration Pokémon Seismitoad. Lilligant landed right on top of a log, while Seismitoad landed in the water, creating waves that splashed both Axew and Emolga.

"So, it's Lilligant and Seismitoad battling on Yamato's side!" Freddy boomed into the microphone, "When it comes to type advantage, Emolga has a strong advantage, being immune to Ground type attacks, and not taking too much damage from Grass type attacks."

"Not to mention, Flying types are super effective against Grass types, giving Emolga a good advantage!" Don George added. Iris cringed. '_Double uh oh! Emolga doesn't have any Flying types attacks!_' she remembered, '_Along with the fact that her Electric type moves aren't very effective against Lilligant, and Seismitoad won't even be affected by them!_'

"Axew?" Axew asked his trainer, getting her attention.

"No Axew, we'll be just fine!" Iris said confidently, "We just have to strike first!"

"Sounds like you're ready to go!" Yamato said.

"You bet!" Iris yelled.

"So folks, it looks like our third 2nd round battle is about to begin!" Freddy announced, "Iris, the aspiring Dragon Master, is battling the Shinobi 16's Captain Yamato!"

"After how both of them went through the first round, I can tell this won't be an easy match up," Don George noted.

"All right, let the battle begin!" The referee shouted.

"Axew, Dragon Rage, and Emolga, Hidden Power!" Iris ordered. Emolga shined in a green outline, forming several green spheres, while Axew's chest began shining a bright blue as he opened with mouth. Emolga fired the spheres at Lilligant, while Axew shot a fiery blast of energy, resembling a dragon's head before striking Seismitoad, sparking with blue flames. Both attacks left explosions in the water, creating smoke around the field.

"All right Iris!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

"That oughta' give her a head start!" Ben said, "What do you think Rex?" he asked. Rex was intently watching the battle, knowing that Yamato had used a Seismitoad yesterday, and that Ino had used a Lilligant as well. '_I might be crazy, but I really think that those are the same Pokémon as before!_' Rex exclaimed in his head as he saw the smoke on the field clearing.

"Emon?" Emolga asked as she looked into the smoke, thinking the battle had ended already.

"Ax…" Axew said, awed by his own immense power.

"Seismitoad, Hyper Voice!" Yamato ordered. Suddenly, a loud echo of wind cleared the smoke, knocking both Axew and Emolga away. The tusk Pokémon was about to land in the water after after that blow.

"Emolga, catch Axew!" Iris called out.

"Emon!" she replied, gliding with the wind, catching Axew with her paws before he could take a dip.

"Ew!" The Tusk Pokémon replied in thanks as Emolga put him down on a stable log.

"Phew…" Iris sighed as Axew was all right, "Now it's our turn! Emolga, Discharge, and Axew watch out!" Emolga began building up electricity in her cheeks, while Axew ducked out of the way. The Sky Squirrel Pokémon then shot bolts of lightning in all directions, luckily avoiding Axew, and struck both Seismitoad and Lilligant. Seismitoad appeared to be unaffected, while Lilligant was experiencing a little pain.

"Lilligant, Giga Drain!" Yamato commanded. The Flowering Pokémon spread out her arms, dispersing the electricity. Her arms then glowed a bright green, firing vine-like beams of energy, latching onto both Emolga and Axew, covering them in a green aura.

"Ah!" Iris exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh man!" Gingka said, "Giga Drain will give Lilligant some health back, and weaken both Axew and Emolga!"

"Not good…" Cilan added.

"Now Seismitoad, use Hydro Pump on Axew!" Yamato commanded. Seismitoad came out of the water and opened his mouth, firing a huge blast of water, colliding with the Tusk Pokémon, sending him flying.

"Emolga, use Hidden Power on Lilligant!" Iris commanded. Emolga shot a green energy sphere at Lilligant, who jumped away, landing on another stable log. The energy sucking vines of the Giga Drain disappeared however, giving Iris another sigh of relief, until she saw Axew once again about to fall into the water.

"All right, Lilligant, use Sunny Day!" Yamato called out.

"Axew, get away from the water with Dragon Rage!" Iris cried out. Lilligant's arms glowed a bright yellow, shooting beams of light up into the sky, intensifying the sun's energy. Meanwhile, Axew shot blue flames from his mouth, propelling himself higher into the air, right above Lilligant.

"Well, that's not bad at all…" Yamato complimented.

"Thanks!" Iris replied, "Now Axew, use Scratch!" she ordered. The claws on Axew's right hand glowed a bright white as he was about to strike Lilligant.

"However, that just gives me more of an opportunity!" Yamato admitted, "Dodge it!" The Flowering Pokémon then vanished, leaving Axew frantically flailing around in the air, before landing on the log, holding onto it tightly as it shook back and forth on the water.

"Nice one Yamato!" Sakura cheered.

"Wh-Whoa Whoa!" Gingka exclaimed, "Where'd Lilligant go?!"

"That must've been Lilligant's Chlorophyll ability!" Bianca exclaimed, "I had no idea Yamato's Lilligant had chlorophyll as well…" Rex, who had been observing that Lilligant for quite some time now, was still in the process of thought. '_Is it possible that the Shinobi 16 are exchanging Pokémon between each other before each round?_' he asked himself, still keeping his eyes glued to the battlefield.

"Oh man…" Ash said in worry.

"Pika…" Pikachu gasped. Lilligant suddenly appeared on a log across from Emolga on her right.

"Now Lilligant, Energy Ball!" Yamato commanded. The Flowering Pokémon then formed a glowing green ball of energy similar to Emolga's Hidden Power, only brighter. The sphere struck the Sky Squirrel Pokémon right in the side, sending her crashing into another log.

"Emolga, are you okay?!" Iris asked in worry.

"Monga!" she replied with rage in her eyes as she found her footing on the side of the log, jumping off of it and then gliding onto another.

"He almost had that one!" Ino whined.

"Come on Yamato, take her out!" Choji yelled.

"All right, Seismitoad, Drain Punch on Axew!" Yamato commanded. Seismitoad splashed out of the water, towering over the unbalanced Axew. The Tusk Pokémon held on for dear life as he was about to be punched.

"Quick Axew, use Dragon Rage to get away!" Iris cried out. Axew opened his mouth, spitting a huge burst of blue flames, exploding on contact with Seismitoad, and also propelled the Tusk Pokémon right into Emolga, landing both of Iris' Pokémon on the center stage of the battlefield.

"Oh my!" Freddy boomed, "Axew is lucky to get away from an attack like that!"

"But it sure ended up being quite effective at a close range distance," Don George noted.

"Toad…" The Vibration Pokémon croaked in pain as he rubbed his chest. Axew and Emolga got up from their collision instantly, still raring to go despite previous attacks.

"Okay, Emolga, get both of them with Attract!" Iris yelled out.

"Mon!" she replied, winking at both Seismitoad and Lilligant, forming pink hearts that flew over to both of Yamato's Pokémon. The hearts split into two groups and orbited around Seismitoad and Lilligant. The Flowering Pokémon was hit by the hearts, but was unaffected. However, Seismitoad immediately had hearts in his eyes as soon as he was struck, fawning over Emolga.

"How do you like that?" Iris bragged.

"Lilligant, use Attract as well!" Yamato called out.

"Say what?!" Gingka exclaimed.

"Lilligant knows Attract too?!" Ash asked.

"Pika?!" Pikachu yelled. The Flowering Pokémon gave a wink, and the hearts formed, and orbited around both of Iris' Pokémon, merging with them. Emolga was unaffected, but saw that Axew was infatuated with Lilligant.

"Axew…" he said, drooling.

"And now Axew and Seismitoad are both hit with Attract, leaving both Iris and Yamato with one usable Pokémon each, until someone snaps out of it!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Uh oh," Yu said from the stands, "What just happened?"

"Attract is a move that a Pokémon uses to make the opponent infatuated with him or her," Madoka explained, "However, it only works if the Pokémon hit by the move is the opposite gender of the Pokémon that's using it."

"I see," Yu said, "So then both Emolga and Lilligant are girls, right?"

"Exactly!" Madoka replied. She then continued to observe the battle.

"Lilli…" Lilligant said with a glare towards Emolga.

"Emon…" Emolga said, glaring right back. Both Pokémon were the only ones who could attack for their respective trainers, and were ready for commands.

"Emolga, Discharge!" Iris commanded.

"Lilligant, Giga Drain!" Yamato ordered. Emolga sparked with electricity as she fired bolts of lightning in all directions, luckily avoiding hitting Axew, while Lilligant fired several green energy vines from her leafy hands. Both moves collided with each other, creating an explosion, which blew both girls back a bit.

"All right, finish her off with Hidden Power!" Iris ordered. Emolga formed another green ball of energy, with an outline of green aura over her body.

"Lilligant, Energy Ball!" Yamato commanded. Lilligant fired another Energy Ball, about to head on a collision course with Emolga's Hidden Power. However, both attacks missed each other, and were headed straight for their targets.

"Ah!" Yamato said.

"Uh oh!" Iris exclaimed. The Energy Ball exploded on contact with Emolga, as well as the Hidden Power exploding on contact with Lilligant. Both Pokémon splashed down into the water from the extreme force of their attacks. They floated up, both with their eyes in swirls.

"Both Lilligant and Emolga are unable to battle!" The referee announced.

"Well folks, now Iris and Yamato only have one Pokémon each!" Freddy announced as Iris returned Emolga, while Yamato returned Lilligant.

"Thanks for the hard work," Yamato said to Lilligant as she was placed in her Poké Ball, "You did well."

"Take a nice long rest Emolga," Iris said to Emolga's Poké Ball, "You've earned it."

"Now this battle is a one on one match up!" Yu exclaimed, "So cool!"

"Darn…" Ash said, "If Emolga could've endured that hit, then Iris would have a sure chance of winning with Seismitoad distracted by Attract…"

"This might not end so well for her…" Cilan added. The hearts in both Axew's and Seismitoad's eyes faded away, returning them to normal.

"Come on Yamato!" Kankuro yelled.

"Go Iris!" Gingka cheered.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu shouted to Axew. Both the Vibration Pokémon and the Tusk Pokémon glared each other down, awaiting commands.

"Axew, Dragon Rage!" Iris commanded.

"Counter it with Hydro Pump!" Yamato ordered. Seismitoad fired a huge blast of water from his mouth, while Axew shot blue flames out from his own mouth. The attacks collided, but the Dragon Rage dispersed as the Hydro Pump rammed right through it, slamming into Axew.

"Ah!" Iris exclaimed in shock. Luckily Axew stood his ground, and the Hydro Pump ceased, leaving Axew dripping water all over his body.

"That was close…" Bianca said.

"Axew's not used to this kind of intense battling, so Iris is pretty much done," Georgia bluntly stated.

"No way!" Ash yelled, "Iris is gonna win it!" He turned to the field to see Iris cringing in worry, as since Axew was out of his league against Seismitoad. '_At this rate, Axew won't be able to counter Seismitoad's attacks! What do I do?_' she asked herself as she continued to think.

"Okay, Axew, use double Scratch!" Iris ordered. The claws on both of the little Dragon type's hands glowed a bright white as he jumped in the air towards Seismitoad.

"Seismitoad, Hyper Voice!" Yamato ordered.

"TOAAAADDDD!" The Water/Ground type screamed, knocking Axew down, back onto the log.

"Uh oh!" Ash exclaimed, gritting his teeth.

"Pika…" Pikachu said in worry.

"Guess that's it…" Georgia said.

"I don't think so," Ryuga replied surprisingly. Axew was still on the center log of the battlefield, desperately trying to get to his feet.

"Ax… Ew…" Axew breathed as he stood up.

"Are you okay Axew?!" Iris asked.

"Finish her now Yamato!" Kiba yelled from the sidelines.

"Yeah, do it!" Choji screamed.

"All right, Seismitoad, end it with Drain Punch!" Yamato commanded. Seismitoad then hopped out of the water, jumping upon the center log, startling Axew.

"Toad…" he croaked, with a smirk on his face, scaring Axew as he breathed heavily. His right hand became a fist, cloaked in a dark green sphere. He pulled it back, ready to deliver the final blow to Axew. '_I can't use that!_' Iris screamed in her head, '_But if I don't, then Axew will…_' Seismitoad lunged the Drain Punch forward, aimed directly at the little Dragon type.

"Ah!" Freddy and Don exclaimed as they saw the attack unfold before their eyes. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the battle had reached it's climax.

"Forget it!" Iris screamed, "Axew, Outrage!" Suddenly, Seismitoad's Drain Punch was stopped unexpectedly.

"Toad?" he croaked, looking down to see Axew, who had blocked the Drain Punch, masked in a red aura with glowing red eyes.

"Ew," he said before slugging Seismitoad right in the chest, sending him crashing into a nearby log.

"What the-?!" Yamato said, but was interrupted as Axew jumped over, kicking and punching the living daylights out of Seismitoad.

"All right Iris!" Ash cheered, but then noticed Iris standing at her position with a look of fear in her eyes. '_Iris…_' Ash said in his head, realizing what was troubling her yesterday.

"AXEW!" The Tusk Pokémon screeched as he slammed Seismitoad into the water. The Vibration Pokémon floated up in a daze, swirls in his eyes.

"Seismitoad is unable to battle, Axew wins, and therefore, the win goes to Iris!" The referee announced. The crowd cheered loudly as Yamato card was erased from the board, and Iris' was placed in the center with the "WINNER" sign under it.

"Phew…" Iris sighed, but then noticed Axew wobbling upon the center log.

"Uh oh!" Yu said as saw Axew leaning over the edge of the log. The Tusk Pokémon then slipped off, falling into the water.

"Axew!" Iris screamed as she saw her beloved partner submerge into the water. Just then, Seismitoad woke up from his dizziness, and dove underwater after Axew. Silence filled the arena as Iris watched the water with worry, hoping her little Dragon type was okay. Seismitoad then emerged from the water, carrying Axew in his hands.

"Thank goodness…" Cilan said with a sigh of relief.

"That sure had a scary taste…" Burgundy said, "But I am relieved that Axew is okay."

"Thank you so much Seismitoad!" Iris said, petting the Vibration Pokémon.

"Toad!" he croaked in reply.

"Is your Axew all right?!" Yamato asked as he ran over.

"Yep, he's just fine!" Iris replied. Yamato sighed in relief, and smiled.

"All right, Seismitoad, return," he said, recalling the Water/Ground type to his Poké Ball.

"Ugh…" Kiba moaned, "We get one win to start the day, and now we're back to losing again!"

"I don't think it'll be that way for long…" Shino said behind him.

"Yeah, why's that?" Kiba asked.

"Because I'm going to make certain that I win the next battle," he replied.

"You kiddin' me?" Kiba said, "What are the odds your name gets on the board next?" Shino looked away, ignoring Kiba's question. Iris walked back to the Galaxy Trainers' side of the stadium, with a tired Axew cradled in her arms.

"So, with Iris' win, the Galaxy Trainers have two wins under their belt!" Freddy exclaimed through the microphone.

"These battles are definitely working up my appetite!" Don George added, "After our next battle, we'll have a short break for lunch!" The crowd was still cheering loudly, even after the battle.

"Iris!" Ash said as she walked through the gate into her team's area. The raven-haired trainer ran over to her, concerned about Axew.

"Don't worry Ash!" she said, "Axew's just resting, so he'll be fine, see?" she said, showing Ash a snoozing Axew.

"Well, that's a relief," Ash said.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Using Outrage was quite risky though," Cilan said, "If it hadn't worked like it needed to, then Axew would've been in trouble."

"But, it did work, right Cilan?" Burgundy said, placing a hand on her hip, "I think your Axew deserves a good rest," she told Iris.

"Um, thanks Burgundy…" Iris said, confused by the connoisseuse's behavior.

"Cilan, what happened back in the Pokémon Center that got Burgundy in such a good mood?" Ash asked.

"Well, you see…" Cilan was about to say, but stopped as soon as Burgundy shot him a glare, "I guess she's just having a good day!" he said in reply, laughing sarcastically. Just then, Ryuga walked up to Iris.

"Uh… hi Ryuga…" Iris said, a little scared. Gingka walked up as well, about to prevent the dragon emperor from making any contact with Iris, or saying anything hurtful to her.

"I'll admit, your Axew has a long way to go before becoming worthy of being the Pokémon of a true Dragon Master," Ryuga said to her, "However, I was impressed by your Axew's power despite it not being fully evolved."

"Um… Thanks, I guess?" Iris said. Ryuga then walked away, avoiding anyone else as he went to sit back down.

"Ax…" Axew yawned as he woke up.

"Hey Axew!" Iris said to the little Dragon type.

"Axew…" he replied tiredly, still yawning a little. He then fell back asleep.

"Hey, Gingky!" Yu called out, getting the flaming-haired boy's attention.

"What is it Yu?" he asked.

"You didn't tell me Ryuga was also in this tournament," Yu said, "Is he a Pokémon Trainer too?" Gingka rubbed his head, nervous about how to respond.

"Well… It's a weird story…" Gingka admitted, "You see-"

"Hey, Gingka!" A voice shouted from the stadium entrance. They all looked to see Masamune jogging back into the stadium.

"Masamoomoo!" Yu exclaimed.

"Don't call me that!" Masamune yelled, "Oh, wait a minute… What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"We both came here to cheer you guys on of course!" Madoka replied.

"Well… I'm sorry to say that I lost in the first round, and Tsubasa just lost a while ago…" Masamune said, rubbing his head.

"Aww…" Yu moaned, "That's stinks so much!"

"Oh yeah, where is Tsubasa anyway?" Madoka asked.

"He's down at the Pokémon Center, resting," Masamune replied, "He just wants rest after that intense double battle."

"Well, Hinata and Iris just won for us," Ash added, "So we're back in the lead!"

"Whoa, seriously?!" A surprised Masamune asked, "Who'd Iris take down?"

"I beat that Captain Yamato guy that you lost to in the first round," Iris replied.

"What?!" Masamune screamed angrily, "Aww, no fair!" he whined, "I wanted to get a rematch against that guy!"

"I highly doubt they allow rematches in tournaments…" Cilan said, sweat-dropping.

"Especially since we're so far in already…" Madoka added, sweat-dropping as well.

"So guys, why's Tsubasa still at the Pokémon Center?" Yu asked, "Did he have a really tough battle?" Everyone was reluctant to say what had happened in Tsubasa's battle, but Masamune walked, whispering into Yu's ear. The little boy gasped as he heard his story about the battle. "Y-You're kidding…" he said with a frightened voice.

"Wh-What is it Yu?" Madoka asked. Masamune then turned to her, whispering the story into her ear. "N-No way…" she replied, fear in her eyes.

"Yeah, that's what happened, and I don't think any of us would've wanted to tell you about it," Masamune said, "We didn't even think this would happen either, but something triggered Tsubasa during that battle."

"Tsubasa…" Yu said, sadness in his voice.

"Okay folks, we'll be continuing the second round with today's fourth match up!" Freddy exclaimed over the loudspeakers. The cards on the large screen began to shuffle randomly, as they had been flipped over, leaving them blank.

"Come on, come on…" Ash begged.

"Please be me, please be me…" Gingka begged as well. Two cards made their way to the center. They flipped, revealing the fourth match up of the second round.

"The fourth match up is Shino versus Ash!" Freddy announced through the loudspeakers.

"Huh?!" Kiba said in shock.

"Told you," Shino said as he walked out onto the field, which had changed to the rocky battlefield from yesterday.

"Jeez, when did he become so smug?" Kiba grumbled to himself.

"All right!" Ash exclaimed, leaving Gingka to sigh in disappointment, "Time for me to win too!" he said, about to jump onto the field.

"A-Ash, wait!" Hinata called out as he was about to leave.

"What is it Hinata?" he asked.

"Shino's a member of my team back in the Leaf Village," Hinata explained, "He's a bug user, so just be careful, okay?"

"Got it!" Ash said with a thumbs-up. He ran right out the gate, onto the field, taking his position.

"Shino used Crustle in the first round, so I wonder who he'll use for the double battle…" Ben said, placing a hand on his chin.

"Shino's obviously going to be using Bug types, that's for sure," Naruto affirmed.

"So, knowing that, Ash should use Pignite and Unfezant!" Iris noted.

"Unfezant?" Gingka said, "You mean his Tranquill evolved?" he asked.

"Yep!" Iris replied, "She evolved and learned Aerial Ace!"

"Not to mention, Unfezant beat Skyla's Swanna, earning Ash the Jet Badge!" Cilan added. Gingka froze as soon he heard the name.

"Something wrong Gingka?" Masamune asked. Gingka just looked down, seeming embarrassed.

"So Ash won his gym battle against her, huh?" he asked as he looked out towards the field. He then took out his beyblade, Galaxy Pegasus from his belt. '_Ash, you're certainly much stronger than I am…_' Gingka thought to himself as he clutched Pegasus tightly, '_That's why, I will prove my newfound strength to you by winning this tournament!_'

"Are you okay Gingky?" Yu asked. Gingka walked out to the wall separating the team from the field.

"Come on Ash!" he yelled, "Win this battle, and I'll battle you in the next round!" Everyone was surprised by Gingka's sudden cheering, especially Ash.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu agreed as he ran up to Ash's side.

"Gingka… Pikachu…" Ash said, "Okay, let's win this!" he exclaimed.

"Don't get too confident," Shino said across from them, "After all, Hinata should've told you how dangerous of a contender I am, and you saw how well I did in the first round, right?"

"Oh, yeah that's right…" Ash muttered as he remembered that Shino defeated Burgundy easily.

"Prenez-le Ash!" Burgundy shouted, "Show him the punishment he deserves for taking down an esteemed connoisseuse, such as myself!"

"All right folks, we'll begin the fourth match up, and then it's off to lunch!" Don George exclaimed.

"To our right, we have Shino, a Bug type trainer known for bringing out the best in Bug types!" Freddy introduced, "And to our left, we have Ash, the Pokémon Trainer from Kanto who's all about battling spirit!" The crowd cheered vocally again, shaking the stadium.

"Let's give 'em a good show buddy!" Ash told Pikachu.

"Pika Pika!" The mouse Pokémon replied, confident in his trainer.

"All right, are both of you ready to begin?" The referee asked.

"Yes!" Both trainers replied.

"Then, you may begin the battle!" The referee shouted, swinging his arm down. Ash took out two Poké Balls, as Shino did the same, enlarging both of them.

"So Ash isn't gonna use Pikachu?" Yu asked, "What a bummer…"

"But that's just part of his strategy!" Cilan noted, "Knowing Shino uses Bug types could be a huge advantage for him!"

"Crustle and Accelgor, let's go!" Shino exclaimed as the Poké Balls in his hands both opened, and the light from them both formed into the Stone Home Pokémon, Crustle, and the Shell Out Pokémon, Accelgor.

"All right, Snivy and Scraggy, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed as both of his Poké Balls opened with the light from each of them forming respectively into the Grass Snake Pokémon, Snivy, and the Shedding Pokémon, Scraggy.

"Ash is using Snivy and Scraggy?!" Madoka exclaimed.

"Talk about unusual…" Stephan added, "Does Ash have his head on straight?" he asked sarcastically.

"After that choice, who knows?" Masamune replied, scratching his head. Gingka just kept his eyes on the battlefield, having confidence in his friend.

"So Ash is using Snivy and Scraggy against Accelgor against Crustle and Accelgor," Freddy noted.

"Snivy is at a disadvantage against both Crustle and Accelgor, with Grass types being weak to Bug types," Don George added.

"Nevertheless, I expect an amazing battle to come from Ash today," Brycen said.

X

"Snivy, use Leaf Blade on Accelgor!" Ash ordered.

"Vee, Snivee!" she replied, jumping into the air, with the leaf on her tail glowing a bright green, she somersaulted as she came down upon Accelgor.

"Accelgor, Quick Attack on Scraggy!" Shino commanded.

"What?!" Ash exclaimed. Accelgor dashed away quickly, leaving a trail of white light behind her as she zoomed towards Scraggy.

"Vee?!" Snivy exclaimed as well, as she landed back on the ground as her tail stopped glowing.

"Scraggy, counter it with Headbutt!" Ash called out. Scraggy grabbed his shed skin pants, and lunged forward at Accelgor. However, the Shell Out Pokémon had other plans as she zoomed over to Scraggy's right side, smashing him into a nearby rock before he could even counter.

"Would you look at that!" Freddy exclaimed, "Snivy can't land a Leaf Blade, and Scraggy takes a pounding from Quick Attack right off the bat!"

"Speed is definitely one of Accelgor's strong points," Don George noted.

"Oh man…" Ash said, gritting his teeth.

"Crustle, Bug Bite!" Shino ordered. Crustle, who was right behind Snivy, was about to sink his glowing teeth into the Grass Snake Pokémon.

"Snivy, jump away!" Ash called out. Snivy jumped up quickly, avoiding Crustle as he only bit thin air, "Okay, now use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered. Snivy span around with a bright green outline masking her body, creating leaves out of nowhere, and sent them hurdling down at Crustle.

"Crustle, endure it!" Shino called out. The Stone Home Pokémon ducked his head and legs into his shell, using his pincers to covering the opening. The leaves stormed upon the top of the shell, merely doing nothing except pound on Crustle's shell.

"No good…" Ash muttered as Snivy landed back down, feeling the exact same way her trainer was.

"Man, that Crustle has some defense…" Stephan said, crossing his arms.

"Not to mention, Snivy's Leaf Storm comes at a cost of losing lots of Special Attack…" Madoka added, "Things aren't looking good for Ash right now…"

"Go Ash!" Masamune yelled.

"You can do it Snivy and Scraggy!" Iris cheered.

"Okay, Scraggy, use Focus Blast!" Ash ordered.

"Scraggy!" The Shedding Pokémon replied, forming a large blue sphere of energy from his hands. He hurled it in the general direction of Accelgor, but the Focus Blast spiraled out of control, crashing onto a rock far away from the Shell Out Pokémon.

"Hmph, that didn't seem to be too effective," Shino said, pushing on his glasses. Ash and Pikachu both growled in frustration. '_Scraggy's Focus Blast won't be able to cut it this time, so then I have to rely on Snivy's speed to catch up with Accelgor!_' Ash thought as he clenched his fist.

"Well folks, Ash is in a big hole here as Scraggy's Focus Blast can't hit Accelgor!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Oh dear…" Cilan said, "It looks like Shino is gaining most of the ground on Ash so far…"

"It won't be that way for long!" Bianca stated, "Go Ash, go!" she cheered.

"All right, Snivy use Vine Whip on Accelgor!" Ash commanded. Snivy jumped in the air, both sides of her neck flashing a bright yellow as a vine came out from each side, being used as whips, knocking Accelgor back.

"Accelgor!" Shino cried out. The Shell Out Pokémon was knocked against a rock, her arms and extensions wrapped up by Snivy's vines.

"Okay Snivy, now use Attract!" Ash called out. While still having Accelgor wrapped up, the Grass Snake Pokémon winked, making several pink hearts appear, orbiting around the Shell Out Pokémon, and then merging with her.

"Perfect!" Masamune exclaimed, "With Accelgor under the spell of Attract, there's no way Ash won't win!" However, Accelgor wasn't under the influence of Attract at all, as she merely blinked, staring Snivy down.

"Sn-Snivee?" she asked.

"So Accelgor's a girl?!" Ash asked in shock.

"That's right," Shino replied, "And trust me, you don't want to mess with a female. Accelgor, Struggle Bug!" he commanded. A bright red aura surrounded Accelgor as she was still trapped. The aura then burst, unwrapping the vines over Accelgor, sending Snivy flying.

"Wow, Shino's not doing bad at all," Kiba complimented.

"We might be able to squeeze out a second win before lunch at this rate," Kakashi added.

"And Snivy gets knocked away by Accelgor's Struggle Bug!" Freddy exclaimed, "How will Ash counter against this brutal Bug type battling duo of speed and defense!" Ash cringed as he tried to think of another strategy.

"Accelgor, Swift!" Shino ordered. Accelgor's extensions glowed a bright yellow as she somersaulted, sending shuriken-like gold stars at Scraggy.

"Scraggy, block 'em!" Ash called out. Scraggy pulled up his skin pants to his big head, guarding himself from the Swift.

"Not bad," Shino admitted, "Now Crustle, use Rock Blast on Snivy!" he commanded. Crustle's pincers glowed a whitish-gray as he shot blasts from them like lasers, directly aimed at Snivy.

"Counter it with Leaf Storm!" Ash cried out. The Grass Snake Pokémon twirled as leaves began to appear out of thin air, storming their way towards the Rock Blast from Crustle. Smoke covered the distance between Crustle and Snivy as their moves intercepted each other. However, a few Rock Blasts made their way through the smoke, striking Snivy into another stalagmite on the field.

"Uh oh…" Yu said as he saw Snivy get pummeled.

"How'd that happen?!" Masamune asked, "A Grass type move like Leaf Storm shouldn't lose to Rock Blast!"

"Unless Snivy was weakened, of course," Madoka replied.

"Weakened?" Iris asked.

"I get it!" Georgia exclaimed, walking up to the group, "Snivy already used Leaf Storm once, lowering her Special Attack! Also, Accelgor's Struggle Bug lowered her Special Attack down a bit further!"

"So then, Snivy's Leaf Storm is useless?!" Masamune asked. Gingka gritted his teeth as he saw one of his best friends and rivals being pushed into quite a corner.

"Snivy, you okay?!" Ash asked.

"Sni…" she uttered, coming out from all the rubble. She had been a little shaken, and was breathing heavily, but was otherwise fine. '_Better not push Snivy to her limit,_' Ash thought to himself as he looked at Scraggy, who was still fine despite that early Quick Attack.

"Crustle, Rock Polish!" Shino called out. The large rock on the Stone Home Pokémon's back began to glow orange, surging Crustle with new power.

"Rock Polish increases Crustle's speed, giving Shino even more of a chance," Kiba said, "He's been prepped for sure…"

"Well, it looks like Shino is going to win," Sai said, "Too bad we can't join in the third round…" he sighed.

"I don't think it's over just yet," Yamato said, getting their attention, "That kid might actually be starting a comeback now…"

"We'll see," Sakura said, confident in Shino.

"Now Crustle, Bulldoze!" Shino commanded. The Stone Home Pokémon slammed his pincers into the ground, charging forward as he ripped the ground beneath him apart.

"Counter it with Hi Jump Kick!" Ash cried out. Scraggy jumped straight towards the charging Crustle, his left knee glowing a bright red, smashing it into Crustle as he rammed into him. Both Pokémon were knocked back, with Crustle sliding just a few feet, and Scraggy sent flying through the air, crashing into yet another rock.

"Uh oh!" Iris cried out.

"Ax…" Axew said, waking up. The Tusk Pokémon blinked, and turned towards the battlefield to see Scraggy, his beloved friend, struggling to get up, "Ew?!" he exclaimed in surprise, startling Iris.

"Oh Axew, you're awake!" Iris said joyfully.

"Ax Ax Axew Ew?!" he asked, flailing his arms.

"Accelgor, use Acid on Snivy!" Shino commanded. Accelgor flew over, shooting a poisonous liquid from her mouth at Snivy.

"Scraggy, protect Snivy!" Ash called out. The Shedding Pokémon responded quickly, dashing over to Snivy in a hurry, shielding her from the Acid using his skin pants for protection. Smoke emerged as soon as the Acid made contact with Scraggy's skin pants. It cleared seconds later, with Snivy safe from the Acid, but Scraggy struggled as he keeled over, falling to his hands and knees.

"Oh no!" Iris exclaimed.

"Axew Axew!" Axew cheered.

"Are you okay Scraggy?!" Ash asked in worry.

"Scra… Scraggy!" he replied, still raring to go.

"Well, that's a surprise," Ino muttered.

"That kid has some tough Pokémon, don't you think so Shikamaru?" Choji asked, munching on potato chips.

"Yeah, he's definitely pushing those two to their limits," Shikamaru replied, "However, that will only go so far for him."

All right, Snivy use Leaf Blade on Accelgor!" Ash commanded. Snivy jumped back into the air with her tail leaf glowing a bright green, swinging at Accelgor, smacking her down into the ground.

"All right!" Iris exclaimed.

"Nice way to get the upper hand Ash!" Masamune yelled.

"You don't have the upper hand just yet I'm afraid," Shino said bluntly, "Accelgor, Struggle Bug!" The Shell Out Pokémon rose up from the crater she fell into upon impact, glowing in a red aura, then letting it burst, sending Snivy flying.

"Oh no, Snivy!" Ash screamed.

"Now, use Quick Attack to finish it!" Shino commanded. While Snivy was still airborne, Accelgor zoomed towards her with a trail of white light right behind her, ready to smash into the Grass Snake Pokémon.

"Could this be it for Snivy?!" Freddy asked over the microphone. Everyone rooting for Ash on the Galaxy Trainers' side cringed as they saw Accelgor racing towards Snivy. Everybody on the Shinobi 16 all grinned, thinking this battle was over.

"Come on Scraggy, use Focus Blast!" Ash cried out. Scraggy formed another bright blue sphere of energy on his hands as quickly as he could. '_We better go for broke or we're done for!_' Ash screamed in his head, "Fire!" he cried out. Scraggy threw the Focus Blast, sending it rapidly flying into the air. Before Accelgor could even touch Snivy, she was struck by the Focus Blast, and sent hurdling into another rock.

"Accelgor?!" Shino gasped. The smoke and debris from the impact cleared to reveal the Shell Out Pokémon with her eyes in swirls. Everyone gasped.

"Accelgor is unable to battle!" The referee announced.

"Holy moly!" Don George exclaimed, "Accelgor's knocked out by an extremely accurate Focus Blast from Scraggy!"

"Axew!" Axew exclaimed excitedly.

"Scraggy's Focus Blast actually made the mark this time!" Iris said happily, "And now, Ash has an even better chance of winning!"

"What the heck just happened?!" Kiba asked, "It looked like we had the door closed on that kid!"

"Well, he is a trainer that Naruto knows as a strong one, so it's only natural he'd make a comeback like this," Kakashi explained. Shino returned Accelgor to her Poké Ball, frustrated that he had already lost one of his team members.

"Way to go Scraggy!" Ash exclaimed, "But the battle's not over just yet!"

"Crustle, Bulldoze!" Shino ordered. The Stone Home Pokémon slammed his pincers into the ground, charging forward, ripping the earth apart under him.

"Okay, Scraggy, Focus Blast!" Ash commanded. The Shedding Pokémon fired yet another accurate and fast Focus Blast, not only stopping Crustle's Bulldoze, but sending him flying into the air.

"Crustle!" Shino cried out.

"All right, Snivy, bring Crustle down with Vine Whip!" The Grass type responded, using the vines from her neck to wrap around Crustle's pincers. She then pulled down as hard as she could, sending the Stone Home Pokémon crashing into the ground, leaving smoke and a huge crater. The smoke cleared to reveal Crustle dazed, but still able to continue.

"Okay, Crustle, Rock Blast!" Shino ordered. Crustle's pincers glowed a whitish-gray again as he fired blasts from them headed for Snivy and Scraggy.

"Dodge them!" Ash called out. Snivy flipped backwards, avoiding the Rock Blast, while Scraggy took cover behind the remaining rocks.

"It looks like Crustle hasn't thrown in the towel just yet folks!" Freddy exclaimed, "How will Ash counter that defense?!" Ash smiled as he knew exactly how to break through Crustle's defenses.

"Snivy, Attract!" Ash called out. The Grass Snake Pokémon winked, creating several pink hearts that then floated towards Crustle, orbiting around him, and then merging with him. The Stone Home Pokémon then had hearts in his eyes, fawning over Snivy.

"C-Crustle?!" Shino exclaimed in worry.

"And now, Scraggy, Hi Jump Kick!" Ash commanded. Scraggy lunged forward at the rather distracted Crustle, with his right knee glowing a bright red. He struck the Bug/Rock type right on the head, sending him sliding and tumbling across the ground back to Shino. His eyes became all swirled up.

"Crustle is unable to battle, Snivy and Scraggy win, and that gives Ash the victory!" The referee announced. The crowd cheered loudly as Shino's card on the large screen was erased, leaving Ash's to be in the center with the "WINNER" sign under it.

"All right!" Masamune exclaimed, "Ash is going to the next round too!"

"Nice job Ash!" Ben yelled.

"Way to go Ash!" Stephan shouted.

"Axew…" Axew said, amazed that Scraggy had mastered Focus Blast. Gingka stood up with a big grin on his face as he saw Ash jump happily in the air for his victory. '_Ash, you're definitely something else,_' Gingka thought as he looked back at Pegasus, '_But that doesn't mean I'll give up on winning this tournament!_'

"So, Ash is the third trainer of the Galaxy Trainers' team to advance into the third round!" Freddy exclaimed.

"Quite impressive how Scraggy was able to control Focus Blast, don't you think?" Brycen asked.

"Yes, it was truly remarkable indeed," Don George replied, "Now folks, it's off to lunch, and then the rest of the second round battles will conclude this afternoon!" Ash ran out onto the field, picking up both Scraggy and Snivy in his arms, hugging them tightly.

"You guys are amazing!" Ash said, "Way to go!"

"Crustle, return…" Shino said as he recalled Crustle to his Poké Ball. He then looked up at Ash, who was smiling as he hugged his double battle team. '_They should've warned me about that kid,_' Shino thought, '_He's much stronger and more clever than even I am._' The Bug type trainer walked off of the field, his hands in his pockets.

"Dang, we better get some more wins in the second half…" Kiba groaned.

"I'm sure the Pokémon we've been supplied with won't fail us so easily…" Kakashi replied.

END CHAPTER SIX

SUMMARY TIME!

**With the second half of the second round beginning, a match up between Choji and Shikamaru is called! Both of them also being members of the same team! Who will advance for the Shinobi 16 into the next round?! **

**As the second round continues, Gingka ends up facing Killer Bee, the rap battle master! Bee pulls out all the stops with his Jellicent and Seismitoad, but wait, doesn't that Seismitoad look a little familiar?! **

**Naruto goes up against the Kazekage, Gaara!" Using Scrafty and Simisage against Krookodile and Durant, Naruto hopes to achieve an easy second round victory! However, Rex sees something familiar about Gaara's Durant?!**

**With only one battle left in the second round, the two remaining trainers of the Galaxy Trainers' team are placed against each other! Trip goes up against Ryuga with his Servine and Conkeldurr up against Archeops and Heatmor! Does Trip appear to have the upper hand, or will the Dragon Emperor rise and conquer his opponent?!**


End file.
